Eastward
by Lunary Canary
Summary: A simple summer school-funded journey around Hoenn with a few strangers from class seems simple enough, right? Let's just forget about the human-pokémon on the loose and the possibility of aliens. The love-sick leader can handle it all, right? Takes place in the future, complete OC story. Completed.
1. Prologue

**Prolouge **- _Deep inside the Mossfield Research Facility_

Deep in the labs of the Mossfield Research Facility, two scientists stood behind a wide plexiglass window and observed the creature beyond it, still traipsing about in the recording-studio sized cell.

"Hey, hey. What's that thing doing?" The younger inexperienced scientist asked, his baggy jeans sagging below the tips of his lab coat.

The older scientist with the graying hair made a glaring face in the reflection of the window. He didn't take his eyes away from the creature. "Don't call her a _thing_. She's a living creature."

"Sure, a living_ freak_ creature." The younger scientist shrugged. "I still don't see why we're keeping her here when we have all the data collected anyway."

The older scientist sighed and turned away from the creature just as the younger scientist leaned on a panel beside the door to the cell. "You'll never underst—NO!"

The cell door suddenly shimmered away, and the creature inside the cell took notice. Before either of the men could blink, the girl had disappeared with a silent gust of wind being the only signal that she had just past. A red light flooded in from the ceiling followed by an annoyingly loud alarm, and as the younger scientist fiddled with the cell's panel buttons in a lame attempt to get the creature back, the older scientist took a dash after the creature.

But as he passed, he soon had to slow down at the stairwell as his age was catching up to him and he knew he'd never match her speed. The walls around him were sooty and black in contrast to its old cream color from the sheer power that the creature had emitted while escaping. He took the radio from his belt and pressed the intercom button. In an exasperated voice he said,

"All hands stop what you're doing! SHE has escaped! I repeat, SHE has escaped! Lock all the doors and secure all windows! Catch her at all costs! I want her alive people, we NEED her for research! She can't be leaked to the public!"

But it was too late. Popping out of a hidden hole that led to the tunnel to the underground research lab, the creature that had escaped merrily smirked and disappeared into the crispy night.

* * *

><p>Daniel's foot tapped impatiently as he stared at the clock hanging above the receptionist's desk. It read a few minutes to midnight. His shift was over hours ago, but he couldn't leave yet because one particular mother had decided to leave her kid with him. The kid in question was asleep on a couch in the lounge near the front doors.<p>

He checked the clock one more time.

This was ridiculous! He hated being the last one in the building. Forget the janitors and cleaning staff—they had left almost an hour ago and gave him the keys to lock the front doors for when the kid's mom finally arrives. Some daycare gig, he was moaning to himself in his head.

Headlights shone past the glass, hitting the wall behind the receptionist desk. Daniel let out a sigh, believing the hover car to be the tardy mother's. When a Flygon landed on the sidewalk instead, he gave a loud groan. That, and the lights were flashing right in his eyes—he couldn't even wonder how a pokémon has headlights when he was so blind. Somehow the kid on the couch was still sleeping soundly.

He couldn't believe it as he clambered to the safety of the dark spot behind the potted plant—the headlights were moving! He was clearly foggy on the visitor now. The doors slid open and a woman stepped in, wearing powerful flashlights on her shoulders.

"Cut that off!" He yelled, shooing her away with his hand. He didn't even care that some random person had broke into an unlocked daycare at 12 in the morning.

"Daniel?" The person turned towards him, blinding him again with the flashlights. His safe spot was suddenly the worst place to be found in, because the fallen soil under him looked like he did number two in his pants.

Daniel recognized the voice and stood up while shielding his eyes with his forearm. "Megan? For God's sake, turn that stupid light off! I'm stumbling into everything here!"

Megan said 'Oh' and flicked off her flashlights with a _click _from her jacket's zipper. While making his way closer to her, Daniel dropped several vases and pricey diamond display. The kid on the couch was still asleep.

"Aren't you going to clean that up?" Megan asked as he finally found her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'll leaving it for the cleaning guys." Daniel shrugged, eyes still closed because of the spots in his eyes. He shook her shoulders as he said, "Are. You. TRYING TO KILL ME?"

"It was an accident." She pouted. He was unaffected since she used this tactic multiple times before. They had graduated pokémon ranger school together; surely he was immune to any of her tricks.

"Whatever. So what are you here for? You're going to get me in trouble if people know you're here." He said, finally opening his eyes and releasing her shoulders. Megan's black eyes sparked in the darkness.

"I've got news. Good news." She said tauntingly. "And, well, bad news."

"Eew. Give me the bad news first."

"Your father couldn't get a hold of you and asked me to tell you that his precious specimen escaped from his lab." She recited the first one slowly, trying to remember all the details.

Daniel just stared. "Yeah...anything else?" His concern with his father's work showed.

Megan brightened up again and she clapped her hands. "Ah! Yes. Remember that thing we signed up for a few months ago when we said we wanted to work together this summer?"

"Yeah, I remember." He nodded although she probably only saw his head go down. "I wanted the job for the extra money." _To buy you an engagement ring, _he wanted to add. But he was too chicken to say it.

"I recieved a hologram-message on my phone a few hours ago. They said _yes_!" Her eyes were wide with excitement.

"Oh." He frowned a bit, but his happiness for her outweighed his disappointment for not getting the job as well.

"Don't '_oh'_ me! They said yes to _both _of us!" She exclaimed, giving him a friendly shove in the shoulder. He jumped up in glee, which would've made him extremely red in embarrassment if anyone else besides Megan had see him do that. He grabbed her into a tight hug to rejoice, but she didn't seem to want to return the hug. "Cool it Daniel, not in front of the kid."

"But he's asleep." Daniel protested, never wanting to let go of her. She wiggled an arm from under his grasp and softly turned his head to the couches. The kid was up and staring at them with creepy lingering eyes. "I swear that kid is going to be a pervert when he grows up." Daniel whispered.

Megan pushed away from his hug and skipped over to the empty seat beside the kid. Daniel reluctantly followed and took the seat across from them.

"So tell me about the job." Daniel prodded, aware that it was still dark and it was just the three of them there. He thought they might as well kill time by talking. "The director didn't exactly give me any details about what I'd be doing."

"You mean you don't even know what you signed up for?" Megan gave him a strange look as she had an arm around the younger kid to keep him company. The kid seemed to be teasing Daniel with his smile, as if saying _I got the girl and you didn't, na-na-nee-boo-boo!_

"Well...They said they needed a pokémon ranger..." Daniel trailed off, sheepishly scratching his jean's fabric.

"And you needed experience with kids." She added with a nod.

"I know; that's why the daycare was one of my references." He said, his eyes scouring the lobby as if to say, _I'm working here, so the proof is in the pudding. _"They wanted someone who was familiar with Hoenn too. I've been sentry for the water routes all the time!"

"I know." Her scoff was mixed in with a laugh too. She was there on his first day when he had fallen into a river that yanked him into a boulder which turned out to be an over-friendly Golem. Good times.

"You don't know what the job is either, then." He said, measuring her facial expressions.

"I've got the gist of it." She shrugged, currently playing with the hair of the kid who had fallen asleep again. She began in a quieter voice, "We'll be guiding a group of teens around Hoenn, like a journey or something. Experience for after they graduate, so they know what it's like to go on a real journey. Poor kids only know things like pokémon mechanics and how to repair a broken PokéGear. They'll never survive the real world."

"Now I remember...A summer-long journey with a bunch of city brats from Unova. I can't believe you forced me into this." Despite his harsh tone, he was smiling. Daniel and Megan turned outside, where real hover car headlights reflected off the door. The car landed beside Flygon, stirring the bushes and trees around it.

Daniel let out a mighty cry and pulled out the keys to the building. "FINALLY! I can go home!"

Megan let out a cough.

He turned back sheepishly. "Oh, right. I can go home after _you _drop me off."

* * *

><p><strong>Hiya! So out of nowhere I had this random idea: FIELD TRIP AROUND HOENN. YES. OHMYGOSH. It had to be done.<strong>

**So here we go, I NEED OCs. I need characters that will make up the groups of both Daniel and Megan, and maybe some other rival groups. It's a race, AND WE MUST WIN! But speaking plot-wise, we have little chance.**

**Here's the setting to get yourself familiar::**

_Eastward takes place in 3011. The teens come from flourishing cities in Unova. Skyscrapers dissapear into the heavens, robots are as common sights on the streets as tourists, and the pokemon coincide peacefully in the wild. There are some pokemon that are dangerous, but they're always taken care of by the Unovan police. Sometimes. In this time period, everything runs on solar power. There are hover crafts, holograms, pokemon-translators, and FaceBook on your wrist watch! Wow!_

**OC Form:**

Name:

Gender:

Age: (Must be either 16-17 (Junior) or 17-18 (senior))

Hair: (Color, Style)

Eyes: (Color)

Clothing Style: (leave blank if you don't really care)

Type of Trainer: (Trainer, Coordinator, Breeder, Pokéathlete, Ranger, ect./ put _student_ if your character hasn't decided yet)

Personality: (AT LEAST 3 good traits, 3 bad traits, goods CANNOT exceed bad traits (that leaves for mary-sues))

Most Stand-Out trait: (he/she usually acts...)

First Impression: (When we meet them, they're most likely like...)

Pokémon: (5 for Juniors, 6 for Seniors (include future pokémon that could be caught). Please make it a variety and realistic; no super powerful evolved ones unless they're the first pokémon, and let them come from different regions. The schools in Nimbasa allow pokémon to be sent from any region in the mail via Egg. Please list them from when they were first caught/hatched to last.) Also include Personality, Background [optional], Moves [4 ONLY. No more than 4.]

Hometown: (All people will come from Nimbasa City or closer cities; so either Nimbasa, Castelia, White Forest, Black City, or Driftveil)

Battle Cry: [optional] (Like Ash's "–pokémon- I choose you!")

Battle Strategy:

Pairing? (Yes/ No)

Background/ History: (What was your character doing before this? Who are their siblings? Parents? Friends?)

Financial Status: (For the character, not you in particular, because money is important and says a lot about a character (ex. Lower class is more appreciative, tolerant, and upper class has higher expectations most of the time))

Level of Tolerance and Pet Peeve: (Tolerates a lot or whines a lot, what bugs them the most)

Relationship with the pokémon: (Tight-knit/close/or something else)

Response to the unexpected: (Calm or Crazy or different)

Other:

**I'll need about 5 (only one OC per person) Any others will go to rival teams :3 Thanks for reading! See ya later!**


	2. Baby Steps

**Chapter One - Baby Steps  
><strong>_Outside of a hotel in Nimbasa City, Unova_

Keycard held above the ignition scanner, Daniel started the hover car. Well, tried to. The engine was still off and the wheel-less four-seater car remained on the ground outside of the hotel he rented. Daniel frowned and swiped his keycard across the scanner again. And again. He gave out a long groan and hopped out of his top-less car, ignoring the door that slid automatically open for him. He stomped to the trunk and wrenched it open with enough force to rip the metal off its hinges. He stared at the Panpour sitting next to his supply bag. Said Panpour looked up innocently as she played with the Hawaiian flower necklace around her neck.

"Pita," Daniel started calmly as she sat under his shadow, "The car won't start with you in the trunk. _GET OUT_."

Pita laughed and jumped onto his shoulder, causing him to nearly topple into the trunk from the weight. He hurriedly threw her off his shoulder and shut the trunk.

"God Pita, you're not as light as fifth grade. Don't hop on my shoulder!"

Pita laughed and jumped into the passenger seat of the car just as Daniel slid into the driver's seat. He messed with a few buttons on the control panel, using the auto pilot feature to pinpoint his destination. Finally, he took his keycard and scanned over the ignition. The hover car roared to life and started rising up into the air. Daniel whooped and put up his arms like he was on a rollercoaster ride, but just as they took off the car slammed into the tree in front of it and dropped again. Daniel and Pita involuntarily jumped in their seats from the impact. The parachute automatically unwinded from the middle of the car and fell on top of them. Then the airbags exploded out from their hidden compartments.

Rage boiling, Daniel let out a tiny little sigh. "Pita, this day just isn't working out for me. Want to go back to sleep?"

Pita gave an enthusiastic nod. They both looked over to Daniel's side of the car where two figures were silhouetted behind the draping parachute. One was definitely a pokémon with a long tail with parallelograms at the end of it. He groaned again. It was Megan and her Flygon.

"Daniel~" She sang on the other side of the fabric between them. "Wakey wakey! Let's not repeat what I had to do to you in our first few years of Ranger college to get your ass up." She was smirking on the other side. He knew it.

"You wouldn't."

"Yeah I would. We're _late_."

"Late means the plane left. It isn't even time for breakfast." He protested.

"To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. I'm _never _late." She recited. Just as her serious tone came, it disappeared. She quickly gave a calm, "I'm not going to blow up your car, alright? Let's go." She and Flygon peeled back the parachute, suddenly blinding Daniel and Pita from the new sunlight. Déjà vu from a few weeks ago in Mossdeep, where he was working as a daycare guardian. After that night he and Megan took a plane to Unova where they were trained on what to do and how to do it. Forget GPS. He had the whole route memorized.

After climbing out of the ruined rental hovercraft, Daniel finally took notice to Megan's clothes. She was already wearing the official Ranger uniform that they were given during training. It consisted of a gold scoop neck bathing suit, which cut off near the hips for the leg area. Her tiny black shorts with the gold belt looped around it _hardly _covered up anything, to his hidden delight. On top of that she had the white sleeveless vest with the "Summer Trek 3011" logo on the back, and white boots that stuck to her legs like a second skin. Her white and gold capture styler was hooked to her belt.

"Quit staring." She said with a sheepish frown. She added a light shove to her demand.

"You're killing me here." He said, unable to take his eyes off her. "Besides, I'm wearing the exact same thing...well, except my shorts are longer, and I'm not wearing boots."

"Wanna swap then?" She shot back with a toothy grin. He sent her a playful glare and placed his hands in his pockets. He was scanning the car now, wondering how much he'd have to pay for damaging a rental.

"Let's just head to the damn airport. Do you have room for two on your magic Flygon?" He asked, turning away from the car, as if the sight burned him. Pita jumped out of the car and began to ride on Flygon's antennas.

"All aboard!" Megan replied, ignoring the sigh from her pokémon.

* * *

><p>After the quick ride through Nimbasa City, nearly ramming into the famous old Ferris Wheel and other flying hovercrafts, the duo arrived at a chaotic teen-filled airport lobby. The walls and any escape routes were invisible at this point from the mass of people. Other rangers in the same uniform were standing on chairs, trying to have an advantage over the crowd, and were yelling names off a list they held. Flygon and Pita were returned into their pokéballs.<p>

"Told you we were late." Was the last of what Megan had said before she squeezed into the hormonal crowd. Daniel was helpless without her and tried to locate her, but with all the random pokémon, yelled instructions, and random blue holograms floating about, it was a lost cause to try and find her. When he tried to penetrate the crowd, he ended up getting smacked by some teens and found himself back to where he started.

_This is ridiculous, _he thought to himself as he tried to look over the heads in the crowd. Even then he couldn't hear his own thoughts. He spotted the director at the head of baggage check, where he was making sure the rangers had their whole group and made it to the security scanners safely. He mustered up some strength. Now he wasn't as confused as these city brats.

"Move aside! Make way! I need to get through!" He yelled loudly, pushing past all the bodies and bags towards the end of the corridor. Surprisingly, everyone parted like the red sea. It was like they only responded when you pulled the authority card. That, and other rangers had called their name on the list.

Daniel was visibly relieved when he made it out of the crowd. Sure, he had to trip over someone's suitcase to get there, but it wasn't like anyone else was looking. He quickly pulled himself off the ground and brushed off the imaginary dust. He had reached the intersection of the 4-way hallway and the traffic was incredibly thick. He managed to hop over everyone and arrived in front of the director.

"Daniel," He said immediately, "You're late."

"I have an excuse!" Daniel protested.

"Don't want to hear it." The director snapped. He pushed a clipboard at Daniel. "Here's the list of your kids, and their ID's are on the paper behind it if you can't find them. Here, take a megaphone." A large white megaphone was placed on top of Daniel's choppy black hair.

"Umm...right." _But my mouth isn't right there, _He managed to say while swallowing the other retort. "I'll go collect my troopers then."

With a silent nod from the director, Daniel squeezed back into the crowd. He noticed that it was thinning somewhere in the middle, and he recognized Megan's megaphone-amplified voice a long ways west. She was surrounded by a very interested crowd. He shook his head. Good thing they were already exclusive...

Daniel took the empty bench nearby and hiked up it, shooing away and old woman who wanted it instead. He looked down to his clipboard and turned the megaphone on.

"ALRIGHT." His voiced boomed over all the heads, making the closest ones wince. "SORRY" He said even louder. He read off the first person on his list. "IRENE CONNOR. I REPEAT. IRENE CONNOR." Some of the kids around him swapped looks, but none of them stepped up.

_Seriously? _He thought, _Megan has already rounded up two of her kids! Where are mine?_

He pulled the trigger again and shouted, "HEY MEGAN! MY KIDS CAN'T HEAR MY VOICE!"

"...DOUBT IT!" She replied. "Jun Kirman!" A hand rose up from the crowd, and soon that hand made its way to her side. The hand actually belonged to a person!

Daniel tried the second person on his list. "GERARD ECKHART. GERARD ECKHART. NOTICE I'M NOT YELLING, AND I DON'T SEDUCE GUYS EITHER, SO GET OVER HERE BIG GUY." He spotted a tall brunette making his way through the crowd. Gerard's suitcase had a passenger—a Ralts listening to an iPod only audible to psychic pokémon.

Gerard put his hand up to signal that he was here.

"Cool. Pop a squat right there man." Daniel said, pointing to the area around him. Gerard gave him a funny look that said, '_Wow, what century are YOU from?'_. Daniel was about to call the next name off the list when a hovering ad blocked his face. He clapped his hand over his face. He was beginning to miss it back in Mossdeep where it was too humid for robots to exist.

_Don't forget to turn off your sustenance pack preservers when you're not at home! GO GREEN! _said the ad. It flittered away to go heighten awareness somewhere else.

"JAMES LOPREO," Daniel started again, aiming his megaphone at the cluster of teenagers in the far left corner. "JAMES FRAKKIN' LOPREO."

"Excuse me sir, but that isn't my middle name."

A dark brown/black haired preppy-styled teen carrying a thin red laptop and drinking a pouch labeled '_Thanksgiving Feast for Two_' emerged from the crowd with a big suitcase and a string of pokéballs tied to it.

"I know." Daniel deadpanned. "But it's been a long morning. Excuse my use of _frakk_."

"Actually, frakk isn't in the dictionary." James continued, taking a seat on the floor next to Gerard, who looked bored while flipping through pictures of him and some other girl on his high-tech phone. Then James rambled with, "Frakk is a term to replace 'freak' or 'frigg', which also aren't real words—"

"LEXI REDSTONE. LEXI REDSTONE. PLEASE SAVE ME FROM THIS MOTOR GEEK." Daniel called into his megaphone. James instantly quieted and resumed activity on his laptop, attempting to hide the red splotched across his face.

"No need to be crabby~" Sang a blonde girl coming from behind. She was wearing form-fitting clothes and had red clunky headphones covering her ears, making her look like a robot. She threaded through Gerard and James' bodies and took a seat on the bench that Daniel was standing on. A Scrafty was following her not far behind, and it seemed that his orange headphones were connected with hers to the same iPod. James was constantly trying to snag glances at her every few seconds. He couldn't help it—there were _girls _here! Girls always seemed to be turned off by his peculiar demeanor. That, and his rambling intelligence.

"Continuing..." Daniel muttered, referring to his clipboard. _A typical group of teenagers I have here... _"ASHKA STORME!" At this, Gerard's ducked head instantly flicked up. But the surprised expression quickly fell to a passive one. Daniel repeated, "ASHKA STO—oh. Hey there."

A girl in cargo pants and tight hoodie impatiently stood in front of him with an expression only Daniel could interpret as "frakked off". Ashka's black ponytail whipped as she swerved her head down to the pokémon egg in the case under her arm, afraid that the crowd had pilfered it or something. But it was still there safely in her arms, along with the rugged backpack she had that looked like it would split open any second.

"Right..." Daniel muttered as Ashka shamelessly plopped onto the floor next to Gerard and gave him an arm hug (which was not returned). Daniel looked back to his list, marking off all the ones who had arrived.

Ashka, the one who probably knows Gerard from somewhere, check.

Lexi, the one with the matching headphones to her pokémon, check.

James, the annoyingly smart one with the endless amount of sustenance packs, check.

Gerard, the one who isn't defined by anything yet, yeah, a check.

"IRENE CONNOR," Daniel said the first name off his list and looked into the crowd that had dropped to a few groups of people and pokémon, "Anyone know where Irene is?"

The teens below him shook their heads and said "no".

"Weird." Daniel muttered, climbing off the bench. He clipped the megaphone to his shorts and let it hang. He turned to the page behind his list, analyzing each ID card.

Irene's didn't exist.

"I have a few missing too." Megan came over with three teens following her. One Daniel recognized as 'Jun with the hand that acts like a ship's beacon'. "We should get to the terminal. The kids can catch up later."

"Sure." Daniel agreed, joining her side. In turn, his group of four on the floor gathered their stuff and stood from the floor. He and Megan scanned them and their stuff. She was right. Most of the city kids were hardly prepared to step into what they were stepping into. "Right..." He continued. He waved his finger over the suitcases that Gerard, James, and Lexi had. "You can't bring those."

"_Excuse_ me?" Lexi voiced first before James could, who had raised his hand to ask for permission to speak. "What exactly can't we bring?" She protectively clamped her hands over her headphones.

"You can't bring suitcases into the wild." Megan answered simply. "They'll weigh you down. If we get chased by a raging pair Slaking, you'd be the first one to go."

Lexi withdrew and regrettingly looked down at her suitcase.

"Actually, Slaking are very sluggish in their movements, so the probability of being chased—"

"James," Daniel interrupted. "You can't immerse yourself in the whole experience of traveling if you're constantly worrying about how the wheels to your suitcase can't handle it or whatever's been posted on FaceBook."

"Two-hours of standing in a crowded airport and I've been informed that my luxurious rack-spotting binoculars are not permitted aboard the S.S. traveling experience." Said one of the guys in Megan's group, who was typing away on a teeny keyboard on his touch-screen phone.

"...What's he doing?" Daniel asked Megan.

"Updating his Twitter." She replied with an urge to roll her eyes. "Ignore Lucas."

"So then how are we going to carry our stuff?" Lexi asked, headphones now resting around her neck. Her Scrafty was now inside it's pokéball, taking its headphones with it.

"Yeah," James agreed confidently now that he had female-support. "I have two laptops, three phones, an ancient PokéGear, an iPod, a replacement iPod, and a hunk of pokémon translators that I'm determined to beat through friendship."

"Ooh, can I borrow one? My Scrafty recently broke his."

"Sure"

"Hate to interrupt the transaction," Daniel said loudly as James tossed Lexi a collar. "But we need to be past baggage check _before _the plane takes off."

Megan returned from wherever she sped off to with a cart filled with a dozen boxes. She tossed each teen a box and returned to Daniel's side. Almost each and every kid gave the box a strange look, like it's the first time they've actually seen one in person.

"Put everything excessive—laptops, cell phones, iPods, hologram recorders, and yes, even handheld sustenance pack preservers," Megan shot a look at James. "And store them in this box. I'll have the airport lock everything up so it will be returned to you when we return. You can bring PokéGears, Pokétches, Pokédexs, razors, cameras, pedometers, and yes Lucas, _binoculars_."

The guy behind her, still on Twitter, did a fist pump.

"What about Poké-Readers?" Lexi asked as she painfully stored her headphones in her box. She held up a tablet with a camera in the middle.

"Oh, those." Daniel remembered them. They were used frequently in his father's lab. They read everything about a pokémon that a pokédex could do, except with more accurate details. "I think we should do a vote. All in favor for the readers?"

Every hand went up.

"So its unanimous. You can't bring them." Daniel laughed as everyone groaned and stored their stuff into the boxes.

"You have a knack for torturing children. Are you sure the daycare hired the right person?" Megan teased as everyone continued to store their electronics in the boxes, although many of them were still trying to hide the tinier stuff in their pockets.

Daniel waved her off. He pointed to Gerard and Lucas. "You two, help me carry the backpacks that the director brought." The two instantly followed like lambs.

"Wait," James said, raising his hand again. "Don't you want me to help? I'm a man!"

"Sorry, you don't have muscles." Daniel shrugged, not even bothering to turn around and check. Gerard smirked and Lucas laughed and tweeted the quote, although Daniel was quick to snatch the PDA from him.

"He's right." James sighed and collapsed onto the bench next to Lexi. "I have no muscles. I make up for that in brains." He gave a proud smile when he said it. Lexi patted his back supportively.

"Is it alright if I just go ahead? I don't have a suitcase." Said Ashka, who hadn't spoken at all since she's been here. Everyone turned their heads in surprise at the new voice. She instantly blushed at all the stares, but her sheepish grin quickly flashed to a steady frown like it had been before.

"Maybe you should ask Daniel. He's your group leader." Megan admitted, wishing she could help. Ashka shrugged and took a seat on the bench perpendicular to Lexi and James'.

Daniel led the two gentlemen to the director, who had pointed them to a locked closet nearby. After unlocking and ransacking the remaining bags, the three guys made their way back to the group.

Gerard glanced at the Styler clipped to Daniel's belt, next to Pita's pokéball. "Mr. Daniel," He started, surprising Daniel by talking for the first time. "You're a pokémon ranger?"

"It's pretty obvious." Daniel shrugged.

"I'm in the Ranger rank in school." Gerard continued. "I want to get into a good college, and I could really use the experience if I brought my Styler too."

Daniel's eyebrows rose higher than intended. "You have one too?"

"Sure." Gerard shrugged like it was nothing. "You can buy them anywhere."

"...Well then." Daniel made it sound like an offense, but it really wasn't. In fact, he liked the idea of students actually taking initiative and practicing their occupation out of school. It seemed as natural as Trainers battling or Breeders brushing their pokémon, but it still seemed odd to him that anyone would hand a real-working styler in the hands of a rookie.

Daniel and the guys distributed the bags to all the teens with suitcases, which was pretty much everyone but Ashka. Everyone seemed to struggle to stuff all their clothes and blankets and other things into the hiking packs—each of which had its own sleeping bag rolled up at the top. When James had managed to bloat his bag with everything, he ended up falling over from the weight.

Daniel and Megan swapped glances.

"It's going to be a long summer..." He sighed.

* * *

><p>"But—but it's my baby!"<p>

"_James_. Let it go."

After semi-successfully moving everyone's suitcase contents into the large square hiking packs, Daniel and Megan led their semi-complete groups into the security point. Ashka took the liberty to go through first, followed by Gerard and a fidgety Lexi, who rubbed her lonely ears consciously. It was currently James's turn through the archway, and when his pack was fed into the scanner, Daniel was told that there was a generation 12 iPad in there. So now, both he and Daniel were wrestling for it like tug-of-war.

"FRACUS ALERT. FRACUS ALERT." A floating cube flew into the room with a red cop-like strobe light on its top. Two skinny metal arms unraveled from the cube's side and jabbed into Daniel and James' side, electrocuting both. The iPad flew into the air as the two collapsed on the ground.

"MY BABY!" James managed to gasp. The floating security robot's face-screen went from angry-emote to happy-emote.

"HAVE A NICE NIMBASA DAY." The robot said as it flew away.

"It's still alive." Lexi said, holding up James's iPad. James gasped in glee and tried to get up, but the gentle shock from before still lingered.

"No, Lexi, toss it to Megan! She'll put it with the boxes!" Daniel protested from the ground, still paralyzed. Right now he could only feel his toes.

Lexi panicked. Everyone was looking at her, judging her to do the right thing. Megan's hands were held up high, ready to catch even a football. But it was James's baby! Couldn't he bring one luxury? But Daniel said no. You can't go against your superiors. And the iPad was on Angry Birds beta version 500.89, level 1—why hadn't James beaten this level yet!

"Oh for God's sake..." Ashka plucked the device from Lexi's hands and crossed the path to Megan and gave her the iPad. Then she returned to her spot next to Gerard. James grumbled as he got off the floor and Daniel managed to get on his feet without falling again. Adorable robots sure can pack an electric punch.

"Alright, let's keep moving people." Daniel said, waiting for Megan's group to go through the scanners. Lucas went first, but not before tweeting his location on his PokéGear. "I said no cell phones with internet!" Daniel snapped as it went through the scanning tunnel. Lucas was green-lighted and continued walking, meeting up with his PokéGear at the end of the conveyor belt.

"Look. I think we all agree that I tweet my thoughts about the girls' bodies rather than voicing them, right?" Lucas replied carelessly, retrieving his PokéGear. Daniel gawked at him.

"I kind of agree with that." Ashka muttered.

"Is that what he's been tweeting?" Lexi gasped, consciously looking over her formfitting travel-wear.

"Follow me at Lucas Taylor the Dark Side!" Lucas whooped as he claimed his backpack and joined the others. Others rolled their eyes.

After the remaining two of Megan's group, Jun and Serena, were past security, the crowd they formed headed towards their terminal.

"Wait! Wait for me!" A girl's voice stopped them dead in their tracks. Daniel waved for his group to follow Megan as the girl put her suitcase in through the conveyor belt.

"Is your name Irene?" Daniel asked, reading off the last name on the one-check-waiting-to-be-finished list. The girl nodded her head frantically, her peacock-blue hair bobbing along. "You're late."

"I'm sorry! I got...caught up."

He rose an eyebrow to her cautious, panicked look. It was like she thought he had figured everything about her out. Truth was, the only thing he knew about her was that she was excruciatingly late.

"You know what...it doesn't matter. Take this bag and put all your stuff in it. Leave behind all your electronics except the essentials—that does not include iPods and automatic toe clippers." He shot her a look as he tossed her the last hiking pack, and she withered under it. She looked like she was handling this 'one with nature' lifestyle much more terribly than the others did.

"But...I need my heated pillow, and the 'sounds of the forest' track on my iPod, and my shoes that don't wear out over long running, and my—"

Daniel shook his head and crossed his arms. "It's been a long morning, Irene. Either you leave the electronics, or the journey."

Irene gave a long winded sigh and relinquished all her gadgets over to Daniel, who was surprised by the enormity of all of them. He had to lift his arms high to avoid tripping over wires.

"Baby steps," He whispered to himself, although he was pointing this at Irene too. "We all need to take a big breath and...baby steps."

* * *

><p><strong>I can't believe how fast I got that chapter out O_O...Well, I like this story so much. That's why, hehe. <strong>

**So, now you know. These are all the OCs so far, and I've tried to describe them enough so you have a distinct memory of all of them. Daniel's group are the main characters of course, but Megan's group will be around a lot too :P And there will be rival groups, just when everyone has settled on our current characters.**

**Anyway, I might have to retreat to weekly updates, since I can't even touch a computer this weekend. Darn family events. Hopefully this story goes well, right?**

**If you want, go ahead and review! :P I'm just glad that you took time out of your day/night to read. **


	3. Route 116

**Chapter Two - Route 116  
><strong>_Rustboro City, block away from East Gate_

From everyone's window seat on the gigantic commercial plane, Rustboro City was in sight. The sky scrapers looked dark, tall, and ominous from here. From this bird's eye view, Rustboro looked painfully dull compared to Nimbasa. Actually, any city compared to Nimbasa was considered dull, because no one can beat out bright neon lights wrapped around the exterior of buildings and the blinking lights on mounted marquees. Once the plane landed, Daniel and Megan led the teens to the front of a hotel a block away from the east city gate. The only color to the hotel was the neon sign above the doors and pinstriped awning. Right now, the only thing on the teens' minds were that they weren't staying in the neon-red roofed pokémon center down the block.

"We're staying at a ratty hotel?" Was the first comment, escaping the mouth of none other than James, wedged between Daniel and Ashka. At the word 'ratty', Ashka held on to her Egg case tighter.

"Hey, this place was paid for by the journey executives. I'm sure it's...clean." Daniel argued for the sake of a pay raise in case anyone important was listening.

"Why can't we stay at the pokémon center?" Irene, the one nearest to the puddle beside the curb, whined. Both Gerard and Lexi, flanked at the end of their make-shift line, were wincing at Irene's constant complaining. She had been like this since the airport, hating on the drab city colors and lack of moving sidewalks.

"Just be happy you're not sleeping on the street." Ashka said coldly, annoyed at her as well. Irene's face was copying the expression of apple pie falling in mud.

"There was a reason actually." Megan said, ready to level things down. "The pokémon center has limited rooms. They need to keep those open for other travelers." She thought about it some more. "That, and none of you have your licenses. So unless you've suddenly obtained a free pass to Rustboro's pokémon center, I advise that we all check in."

Daniel held a door open for the teens to enter, Ashka being the first one to enter out of the intimidated mix. The other working doors opened automatically, to Daniel's annoyance. One act of kindness shot down.

Irene was the still standing outside when Megan went to lead the conjoined group inside. Daniel waited for her to enter with crossed arms, but she was still staring straight up to the roof at a neck-breaking angle.

"Coming inside anytime soon?" He said, foot tapping.

"Strange stacking customs..." Irene muttered. She remembered she was being watched and took a step forward, but just then a city bus passed through and zipped across the puddle behind her, splashing her with dirty grey water. "EEEW It's all over my legs!" Irene squealed in horror, holding on to the damp ends of her skirt. Seeing that she was still going to be on that curb the next hour, Daniel went and pushed her through the sliding glass doors to the lobby where everyone else was at.

"So together Daniel and I have six rooms, but there's only ten of us all together. Hey Daniel, can you help me split the kids up?" Megan called from the lounge area where everyone was seated, holding up six keycards hanging on chains with the hotel's name on it.

"Sure." He let go of Irene and took the cards. "You two," He pointed at Jun and Lucas and tossed them a key. "You two," He tossed a key at Lexi, his other hand pointing at Serena. "Gerard and the gadget master..." He threw a key at James.

"Wait," Ashka said. "Can't _I _have the room with Gerard?"

Everyone looked at her strangely, and Gerard's face went tomato red.

"And Irene, you're rooming with Ashka." Daniel finished, placing the key on top of Irene's head, which presumably slipped off. Ashka frowned in aggravation. "Megan and I will share a room. Any questions and concerns?"

Just about every hand went up.

"Good, no concerns." Daniel laughed and clapped his hands together as everyone groaned in unison.

Megan quickly changed the subject. "So, since we're all not departing ways until tomorrow, we're giving you the freedom to roam around town. Stick together, and don't leave town either. I don't want to stress the concerns of—"

"No no, I think they're already clear Megan," Daniel said, wagging his palm around. "They're in a different region. If they leave the town, they're on their own. They'll have to fend against wild pokémon themselves."

A few people who had thought of leaving town dropped their smirks. With a nod from their supervisors that they were able to go now, the teens dispersed. Once out of ear shot, Megan gently took the last keycard from Daniel. Confused, he opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head.

"I'll sleep in a separate room, thank you." She said. He swears she was just teasing as she strutted out of the hotel lobby, Flygon's pokéball in hand.

* * *

><p>The elevator stopped at their level and Gerard and Ashka exited, followed shortly by James, who distanced himself from them so it wouldn't seem that he was following them. Gerard found his and James' room and unlocked the door, letting Ashka enter first. What James had said earlier was accurate; this place was completely dark and filthy. As the duo dropped their heavy bags onto one bed, an explosion of dust occurred. James entered behind a little weary. He was sure a rattata would scurry across the room soon.<p>

"Honestly, I rather sleep outside." Ashka sighed, sitting at the edge of the double bed and staring out the small window on the right.

Gerard nodded. "I would've been okay with our one hundred and eleventh-time camping."

She turned with a look. "You've kept count?"

"I was making up a number close to it.."

James stood awkwardly next to the empty bed next to Gerard's. He felt like he should add to the conversation, since he was here and all. But the two held a bond that he was afraid of intruding on. Yet, he was curious. Where do these two live that they can go camping that frequently? He was from Black City, where camping was impossible because of the lack of grass and trees.

"...Where are you two from?" He suddenly said, wishing he could just tape his mouth shut. He hadn't meant to open his mouth and interrupt their comfortable silence.

"White Forest." Ashka shrugged off his question. He understood now. She and Gerard were one of _them_, the tree huggers of White Forest. Black City and White Forest were sister townships, right across from each other. A dirt-to-fancy-walkway was between the two towns.

Gerard shoved his head out the window and looked around. He could see past the east gate. "Hey Ashka, let's go camp outside tonight."

"Won't you guy get in trouble?" James said before Ashka could answer. The two turned their heads to him, as if remembering that he was there.

Ignoring James's question, Ashka said, "Sure. But let's go after everyone's asleep, so we can ditch Daffy and Daisy." This was referring to their Rangers, Daniel and Megan.

"Cool." Gerard nodded in agreement, sealing the deal. James was panicking inwards, wondering if it was his duty to talk the two out of the idea. Weren't they afraid of the wild pokémon? Then Gerard surprised him by asking, "You want to come too, James?"

"Gerard..." Ashka was almost growling. She didn't want James to come along.

Gerard ignored her and waited for James's answer.

_This is my chance, _James thought, _I can convince them not to go! Then maybe I'll save their lives and they'll be in my debt! I could always use more test monkeys. _But when he was ready to answer, a weak, "No.." came out.

Gerard shrugged. "That's fine with me. Here, take the keys. Ashka, we should leave now while Daniel and Megan are out of sight." He said, looking down the window, where Daniel was chasing after Megan's Flygon high in the sky. Ashka nodded and detached her sleeping bag from her hiking pack.

"Cover for us if they ask, okay?" She said to James as she and Gerard left to the elevators.

James anxiously stared after the closed door, wishing that the two would turn around and forget their crazy plan. But they were as reckless as he was feeling. He took his sleeping bag and stashed the room's keycard into his pocket. He opened the door to the hallway and dashed out. "Wait guys, I'm coming with you!"

* * *

><p>When Daniel had finally thought he caught up with Megan, he ended up losing her. He was standing in front of the pokémon center, and from the window he saw the guys of Megan's group, Lucas and Jun, clustered around a table doing their own things. He looked back up to the sky. No sight of Flygon or his rider.<p>

He took a walk around town, searching through the skies and windows. With no luck, he decided to just retreat to the local bowling alley, seeming like the only building with neon lights in this town. And there was Megan, seventh lane rolling a lavender ball down to the pins. Her trooper, Serena, was sitting nearby with a sketchpad.

"Hey," He said as he made his way over, attempting to be heard over techno music and the sound of balls smashing into pins. She looked up from her bowling ball as a robot returned it.

"Hold on." She said, and sized up the pins a further ways down. She was on her third frame. She raced forward and sent the ball flying...right into the gutter. She turned away and gave a scoff. "You're throwing me off my game." She said playfully, walking back up to him.

"I've got a simple question." He said, rocking back and forth to the music beat blaring around the alley.

"Thanks for the warning." She stifled a smile. For a second, he saw her happy, smiling self return. But she left that at the airport.

"What was with that thing earlier?" He asked, referring to the room-assignment situation. "Is it because you think the kids will suspect something? It's a bit too late for that. They're old enough to understand, Megan."

She rolled again, knocking one pin off the side. Her tongue clicked and she came back around. When she went to pick up her bowling ball again, he called her name. She span on her heel, exasperation in her voice.

"We need a break."

_You didn't just say that. _He wanted to say. But he was silent so she could continue explaining.

She squinted one eye shut so she could focus her aim. "We need to be professional. Plus, we're going to be separated from each other for a long time. To avoid heartbreak and missing each other, I provide the simple solution."

_Miss you already. _"If that's what you want." He said, staring at the floor. Now he was regretting following her.

"It's what you want too." Her smile lifted a bit. She rolled the ball back down the lane again. A strike. "We did this before, when we were working separately as sentries in Hoenn! It worked out Daniel, calm down. It's not forever. If you love something, it'll come back."

He shook his head, knowing that saying wasn't fitting into their situation. She just wanted to a free card to see other guys while they were apart. But she would miss him. Then she'll see how stupid this was. He thinks.

"I'll see you in a few weeks, then." He nodded, clenched fists hidden behind his back. She nodded and continued her game as the ball returned. Daniel backed away to the table where Serena was drawing. Bowling balls were stored under the table.

He took a glance at her drawing as he passed by.

It was of Megan standing on the only hand saving him from falling off a cliff.

* * *

><p>As a city boy, James was deathly afraid of going out in the wild parent-less. He was more confident of surviving when his Dad had a Throh and double-barrel shotgun. To make it worse, he had forgotten his pokéballs in the hotel room, so if he ever got separated from Gerard and Ashka, he was doomed. Gerard's Umbreon was out and leading the three around, looking for a clearing to make camp.<p>

It was a twenty minute walk by now, and James swears he's saw that tree with the spider web before. But when he voiced this to the duo in front of him, they said it was something different. He kept a close eye on Rustboro's buildings behind them like it was the north star. He was sure that if he found the path back to Rustboro, he could make a clean getaway back. That was plan B.

There was a loud rustling nearby, and Gerard's Umbreon stopped and stared at a bush. James bumped into Gerard because it was too dark to see, and none of them brought a flashlight.

Something jumped out and James squealed and hopped onto Gerard's back. Umbreon's glowing tattoos revealed it to be a...

"Oh look, it's the ferocious Skitty of the forest, here to nibble on our insides." Ashka deadpanned, staring at James on Gerard's back. Awkward.

"S-sorry." James apologized and returned back on his two feet. Gerard dismissed it like it never happened and looked upwards, where a hill was located. It looked climbable.

"Let's camp up there." He said, pointing at it. James looked at Gerard as if he had just asked them all to walk up a ninety-degree cliff. Ashka agreed and followed, and Umbreon led the way. James hurried before he lost sight of them.

It took a few tries, but James finally got to the top of the hill where Ashka and Gerard were setting up their sleeping bags. Those two had climbed like experts, treating the unstable ground like escalator steps. James had to crawl because he felt like the earth was tilting just so he'd fall. He ended up slipping and sliding and losing his footing several times.

By the time he set up his sleeping bag in front of the tree a few feet away from Gerard and Ashka, the two had already slipped into their bags and were pointing up at the stars. He decided to do that too, although he found no fascination in the stars as much as they did. He only saw lights in the sky, which Black city often made up for with its high rise buildings. The red lights he saw up there were surprisingly similar.

When the two had went off talking about what they might encounter on the trip, James got bored and told them he was going to go explore the forest. Gerard warned him not to stray far, or he'd be on his own. James just nodded and kept going.

For a while he just stared at some trees, wondering where their wirings were that made them grow like that. He was beginning to miss electronics so much, that the tree in front of him fantasized into a nice little panel. He pressed the bark in places as if it were a phone, and then he stuck his face into the gaping hole in the middle and said, "Hello? Please redirect my call to Mr. President, please."

He walked around some more, but then he tripped over something and ended up face planting into a pile of leafs. He groaned and lifted his face, finding some leafs sticking to his skin. He turned around and felt the ground where he tripped. Some earth was jutting up. He felt around, feeling a holster. His interest piqued.

He slid the item out from under the ground. The item illuminated itself from the neon lights embedded into the barrel. He recognized it instantly from the numerous video games he played from his early childhood, preferably _Halo_.

It was a plasma gun.

Scoping to be sure no one saw him, he placed the gun next to tree roots and camouflaged it in leafs. He was giddy just from the cool touch of the metal. He wanted to share this discovery with someone who'd actually believe him—Daniel. He started back for the hillside. Ashka and Gerard were sitting up and pointing at the multitude of shooting stars crossing the sky. James stared too, knowing better. He knew that stars didn't bounce back and forth in place.

He was too busy watching that peculiar sight to see the bright beam behind him pulling that plasma gun out from the pile of leafs and into the indefinite sky.

* * *

><p>The next morning the lobby was bustling with voices and arguments, namely—Daniel versus his troopers. They had found out from Lucas, who'd been keeping an eye on Megan's twitter, that her group was heading to Verdanturf town. They wanted to go there because Verdanturf was famous for handing out coordinating licenses to pretty much anyone, age regardless. That, and they were more comfortable with traveling with a giant dragon bug then a tiny playful monkey.<p>

"No, we can't go with them! We have our own route to follow, and that's final!" Daniel argued, but his all of his kids (minus Gerard, who was fine with any arrangement) were blabbing nonstop about how it'd be easier to travel as a group of ten then a group of six and four.

The main reason Daniel didn't like this idea was because it meant spending more time with _Megan_, who clearly didn't want to travel with him "professionally". If he agreed to this plan, then it would be awkwardsville for everyone.

Megan pulled him aside, away from the ridiculous notions of his teens, and he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not.

"Just come with us." She said. She made it sound like a consolation prize.

"We both have schedules to keep." He argued. "My group has to be in Fallarbor town in two weeks! If we're not there by then, executives get worried, parents get worried, and next thing you know there are channel nine helicopters overhead." And then he added, "Oh, and my pay gets docked."

Her hands rested on her hips. "We'll make it work. The main thing is that they're happy, right? There'll be a contest in Verdanturf in three days, which should be long enough to get there by raft. Then you can cross the forest to Fallarbor."

He gasped, hand drawn to the opposite shoulder. "Go off the map? Are you nuts? I rather go back around to Rustboro than take the red riding hood path. Forget it."

"Come on, look at all of them. You can't separate their bonding now..."

He took her advise and turned his head back to his group, who had blended with Megan's three. They were all whispering amongst each other. He had to admit, seeing them all converse was a sign in the positive direction. Seeing them be friendly to each other on official Day 1 meant that they were already learning how to choose good traveling buddies for the future.

Lexi looked back at the adults. "Heads down," She said again, even though everyone's heads were practically buried into their chests. "Start whispering some more."

"Alright. So you have a nice rack, can I take it for a spin...?" Lucas started, who was across from her.

"Someone slap him. Just. Like. Right now." Gerard muttered, too far to do any bodily harm.

"I'll do it!" Irene volunteered obliviously, just a person away from Lucas. She reached across James and thumped him.

"Hey!" Lucas hissed, still trying to stay in character.

"He asked." Irene shrugged.

"You guys are acting so childish." Ashka grumbled, her back aching from bending football-huddle-style so long. Everyone turned their heads to Megan and Daniel, who had stopped talking. They all broke the circle they made and waited for someone to speak.

"Okay." Daniel sighed and lifted his arms in defeat. "We'll follow Megan for a while."

Enthusiastically speaking, only Irene cheered.

* * *

><p>When the conjoined group reached the end of the city's east gate, Lexi and Lucas had noticed a definite change in the atmosphere. Both had paused far from the group who had begun to walk slowly forward. Everyone else had their PokéGears out and were listening to Daniel explain the route they were taking.<p>

"So we're just going to go straight, and it should take about five hours to get to the halfway point, but that's only if we don't stop for breaks, and then maybe we take an hour rest at..." He stopped and looked at Lucas and Lexi, both confusedly looking around a few feet away. "Hey, you two. Something wrong?"

"The air smells...different. Empty." Lexi said, sharing a look with Lucas because he had the same idea.

"It's called _fresh air_." Daniel deadpanned. The two '_oh_'d and returned to the group. He rolled his eyes at their fascination. _City kids..._

After showing everyone how to mark the map on their PokéGear, he led the group farther down until the ground sunk deep into a wide watery trench that took up the whole pathway. A few feet away, an old sign said 'Route 116'.

"What happened to the route!" Irene panicked, arms flung towards the ground, as if no one else noticed the river out of all the greenery. Before Daniel could automatically respond, James explained with,

"Due to Global Warming and earthquakes, the route has opened and filled with water. I suspect the water is...a hundred feet deep?"

"EAH!" Daniel said, imitating the sound of the 'wrong' buzzer. "It's five feet deep. Really shallow. Hey, can some guys _minus James _help me blow up the raft? Some ladies can help too, if you've got strong lungs."

"Why don't you just use an electric pump?" Jun, the other one in Megan's group besides Lucas and Serena, asked as if it was the obvious answer.

Daniel gave him a look. "Do you see a socket out here?"

Everyone joined in looking around. So that was a no.

"Right." He continued. He opened the second drawstring bag he was carrying next to his own hiking pack. Megan had one too and pulled out the item inside. It looked like a rubber raisin at this point. The two had spread out the rubber so it would look like a circular-tube object without a hole in the middle. They both showed everyone the uncapped rubber holes that they needed to blow into.

Ashka didn't like the sound of being the second mouth to blow into the tube. "Can't we use flying pokémon instead?" She asked. A lot of the others were agreeing with the suggestion.

Daniel agreed because he didn't want to put his lips on the device either. "Fine. But when you're pokémon-less and need to blow up a raft, you'll realize you don't have the experience to blow it up yourself."

"I would've blown it up back at the hotel." She muttered under her breath, going on unheard.

"Alright, who's got flying pokémon?" Megan asked, looking around expectantly.

"I have a Skarmory!" James volunteered.

"I have a Staravia." Ashka said reluctantly.

"Lucas has a Taillow, and I have a Tropius!" Jun said with a grin, stretching Lucas's non-tweeting arm up to volunteer him. As all the pokémon were called out in bright flashes of light, it turned out that Irene and Serena had a few birds with them too. Soon the deflated rubber rafts were full of air, looking suitable for riding down a river in.

The rafts were large and circular, taking up about most of the river's length. One side seemed to be about seven feet wide. The raft was a yard tall and was striped blue and yellow. It's bottom was wooden and balanced easily when pushed into the water. A ripcord was attached to the two rafts so they would float together.

"Let's separate, Seniors and Juniors." Megan said, getting into the first raft. The seniors, Ashka, James, Lexi, and Gerard, joined Megan in her raft, which was about to be pulled away by the current if it wasn't attached to the docked one. The raft bobbed as they climbed in and set their packs in the middle of the raft. There was plenty of leg room for everyone.

"OH MY GOD!" James exclaimed, eyes wide.

"What?" Lexi looked confused.

"It has _cup holders_!"

"What more surprises does this raft hold..." Ashka smiled over at Gerard wistfully.

The other raft was inching towards the water. Daniel told Lucas and Jun to get into the raft, and they jumped in, making the rest of the raft fall in. Serena followed in, her professional camera hanging against her neck. Irene was still standing on land, feet planted into the ground.

"Anytime now Irene." Daniel said, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

"...I uh...can't swim." She muttered, head facing the ground.

"Build a bridge and get over it." He said, giving her a gentle shove forward.

"I'm terrified of bridges!" She squealed in horror. Jun and Lucas pulled her in against her will. Daniel hopped in as well, just as the rafts drifted forward, away from the shoreline. It was silent for now, with everyone just watching the scenery past by. Mostly they saw common wild pokémon who didn't give them any second thought. Serena was snapping pictures constantly, but Lucas thought it would be fun to get in her shots and make stupid faces.

Megan started to explain the things around them, her voice loud so the others in Daniel's raft could hear. "This route has a whole bunch of Skitty's and Whismur! The trees that they live in have recently been grown due to deforestation. Oh, looks like we'll be nearing the deeper end soon—"

The raft lurched forward and _splash!_, water sprayed. When Daniel's followed off the ledge, their splash ended up drenching James.

"My equipment! NO!"

"It'll dry." Megan reassured. "Hey Daniel, we've gotten into the deeper waters. Get Pita out." She looked to the confused teenagers in front of her. "Oh. Well you see, now that we're in deeper waters, there's a good chance that we'll run into pokémon who want to mess with our raft. Plus, from here, the current is ridiculously slow. We'll need a steamboat to pull us forward for the next few hours."

Pita was released from her ball, and she jumped back and forth between rafts.

"We're relying on a two-foot monkey to pull us downstream?" Gerard voiced everyone's doubts.

"It seemed like a good idea with only one raft to pull!" Daniel argued from his raft. To James, this seemed like a good time to save everyone's lives and get some respect. He raised his hand enthusiastically and said,

"I have an idea! I have one!"

"You do now?" Megan leaned back and waited for it.

"I have a Wailord!" He held up an expanded pokéball proudly.

"Oh hell..." Daniel cursed, overhearing the suggestion. "I don't think it'll fit!"

James's face instantly darkened. "Pokémon are not _its_. My Wailord is a _male_."

An awkward silence followed.

"So...let's keep moving." Megan said, filling the quiet. "James, we'd love to have your Wailord guiding us. Please bring him out."

In one toss, a _gigantic_ blue whale materialized, causing a great wave to erupt from under him. It towered over all of them, and James was given a harness that was attached to Megan's raft. He expertly climbed his pokémon from the tail and swung one end of the harness down Wailord's side. Daniel's Panpour dove for its end and brought it up the other side, and climbed Wailord's slippery hide back up to James. James clipped the two ends of the harness together and tightened it.

"You can move now, Gret-tear. Pull us gently."

Even one slight movement jerked the rafts across, and everyone cheered as they moved forward. Despite Wailord's tail moving slow, they were going at least seventy miles an hour in the water. James stood at his Wailord's head proudly, soaking up all the cheers from his trip-mates. He had done something right.

But just as he did the 'Top of the World' pose, he slipped and fell of Wailord's back. As he resurfaced, Gerard and Ashka pulled him back into the raft and patted his back regardless of its dampness. James grinned despite having just embarrassed himself in front of everyone. He would've done another belly flop if it meant winning everyone's praises.

* * *

><p>The sun was blazing at a ninety degree angle, and that must've meant that it was noon. After Pita found a clearing nearby, the rafts were pulled onto land and Gret-tear was returned into his pokéball. Daniel and Megan let everyone explore while they set up lunch. The only catch was that they had to go in groups, so that led everyone but Serena to go explore. Instead, Serena decided on sketching the numerous pictures she took on her camera.<p>

"How far are we?" Megan asked as she released Flygon from his pokéball. In its hands was a foldable table. It was cheating to make the pokémon carry it in its pokéball, but how else would they carry it?

"We've gone almost two hundred miles." Daniel said, reading his Styler, which had a built in odometer.

"That's great!" Megan said, unfolding the table. "We've shaved off a lot of time that it would've taken to get to the half-way point. We might even get there before nightfall now."

"Good." Daniel nodded. He wanted to talk about something else. He wanted to talk about the two of them, and how they should get together again. He didn't like the awkward silence that they had endured on that raft ride. They had sat on polar opposites of each other, as if to sit the farthest so they wouldn't have to converse.

While the two were fixing lunch, James had broken off from Gerard, Ashka, and Lexi to sit on a log. He was still mad that he forgot about that plasma gun he had found in the woods last night. He hoped that no one else had found it and reported it to the science community. He wanted to be the one to be disproved as just a fancy new water gun.

A light shot out of the sky a few yards away, and curiously he dashed to where the beam was. And there he saw it. Right in the middle of the forest floor.

The plasma gun.

Just like last night, he hid it within some leafs. But this time he had someone he could report it to. Quickly, he ran back to the river's edge where Daniel and Megan were setting up lunch.

Almost a few seconds later, Gerard passed by the same spot, but he wasn't searching for the same thing James was. He, Ashka, and Lexi were playing a game (or as their mature selves would call, a "mission") to find the rarest berry, and right now he had only found a Cheri berry which had rotten far beyond its expiration date.

He stepped over a pile of leafs and lifted his foot when he felt something hard crunch under his shoes. He kicked some leafs aside and stared at the glowing item.

It was a sleek-looking ray gun, with four neon rods in the center and a baby bottle top nose. He picked it up by the rough holster, finding it a little less then light. The trigger was locked so some idiot wouldn't fire it in his pants on accident.

Curiously, he unlocked the trigger and fired at the ground. The rods around the gun lit up even more so than they were before. A blue orb formed at the tip of the barrel, and then _WOWM!_

An orb the size of a pilates ball shot into the ground, causing the whole earth to rumble. An explosion pushed Gerard into a tree, and once the smoke subsided, a gaping crater was all that was left of the ground. Gerard whistled and stared at the gun.

With a quick look to make sure no one was around, he locked the trigger and slipped it deep into his hiking pack.

He walked away slyly, as if he was never there.

Seconds later James returned with Daniel in tow.

"It's here! Right here! This weird Nerf gun is over here!"

James fell into the crater face-first. Daniel stood at the edge and peered down.

"I'm not seeing anything but dirt here." Daniel said as James wiped the dirt from his face. James looked around in disbelief and started overturning dirt, wondering if the gun had some sort of cloaking device to it.

"But—but it was right here! I saw it!"

"I think all this fresh air and lack of electronics has gone to your head." Daniel said, turning around. "Come on, let's go eat."

James followed reluctantly after stepping out of the crater. He shook his head in disbelief. If the gun wasn't enough proof, the crater was.

There was an alien device somewhere on Route 116.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes. Everything is going according to plan...Muhahaha. I'm surprised how lengthy I'm making these chapters, though. I hope you guys don't mind :P Just say the word, I'll start cutting it in half. <strong>

**Also, if you're having trouble remembering characters, tell me okay? I have to look at a seperate document with them all listed myself...-.- Thanks for reading the chapter!**


	4. Bonfire

**Chapter Three - Bonfire  
><strong>_Route 116, Past half-way mark, 6-ish_

"Hour ten on the trek to who knows where. We are enveloped in a deep silence. I have learned the names of Serena and Irene, my fellow future juniors. I of course know Jun because we were friends at home. Serena is a total tomboy; totally tried to twist my fingers off when I reached for her purdy camera. Irene is a total blonde-dyed-blue. She's my favorite crazy chick on this boat…next to Lexi, that girl wearing a second skin. HOT."

Megan and Serena, both sitting near each other on their raft, stared at the typing Lucas strangely as he focused on the keys and screen to his PokéGear.

"Must you read as you type aloud?" Megan asked, leaning on the edge of the raft.

"It helps me correct spelling errors!" Lucas shot back. He dramatically punched a button on his keypad. "And…send."

As Lucas had narrated, it's been ten hours since the rafts had touched Rustboro land. The route has been the same since then, where only on rare occasions would they all see a Pokémon drinking water or find a Carvanha skating past their rafts. A few people guessed that James's Wailord was so big that it scared off any other Pokémon they could've seen. Daniel was fine with this because he believed in safety first—that and he didn't feel like whipping out his Styler in case something menacing popped up.

The teens were still as friendly to each other as they were in Rustboro. So basically; they weren't friends. So far, they've only been accustomed to each other's presence. Gerard and Ashka conversed normally, and sometimes Lexi would try to add into the conversation. Ashka always sent her a cold glare whenever she tried to speak directly to Gerard. Irene was always bubbly and spoke to everyone, being the only clear icebreaker. James spoke to no one and found comfort on sitting on his whale while everyone else was in the rafts. In Megan's raft, Serena snapped pictures while Lucas traversed over multiple social networks and Jun just sat in the background watching everyone else. As for Megan and Daniel…

Not a word since their stop a few hours ago.

"Mr. Daniel!" Irene said, fidgetingly rocking back and forth. "Where's the bathroom? I've been holding it since Rustboro!"

"Right there." He pointed.

"But that's a tree." She said, as if it wasn't obvious. Ashka and Gerard swapped looks. In White Forest, they had been trained to use a tree before they could use a toilet.

"We won't peak, promise." Ashka said with a shrug.

Things started to slowly register to Irene, according to her facial features turning to disgust. "Gross! No! I'm _not _using a tree! I'd rather use the river!"

James, who could hear tidbits of conversation from way up on his Wailord's back, said, "Did you just suggest to pee in the river? Wait, I wasn't supposed to say that. Well, too late to take it back. We don't need you polluting our rivers!"

"I'm not using a tree!" She yelled back upwards, waving her fist at him.

"Looks like you'll have to wait then." Ashka said, finishing the conversation. Silence washed over the rafts as Ashka and Gerard leaned forward and dipped their hands in the water, and Lexi began count the numbers of Skitty's she's spotted—so far its three-hundred. Daniel continued to watch Irene cross her legs and rock back and forth.

Irene gave out a overly dramatic groan and said, "FINE! I'll use a tree. Stop this damn boat already!"

Daniel laughed and gave James the signal. James calmly asked Gret-tear to stop and dock at the side. As the rafts came to a stop, bumping into Gret-tears submerged tail, Daniel said, "Ashka, Lexi, go with Irene to a tree so she doesn't do things...incorrectly."

The three teens hopped onto land and quickly skittered into the forest, Ashka being more reluctant to follow then Lexi was, since she had to go too. Several of the guys ran off too in a different path of thickets, since everyone had been holding their bladders in hope of coming across a bathroom. But when they cross the half-way mark an hour ago, they were only met with a flag. No bathroom, no vending machine.

Lucas was the last of the teens left, still happily surfing the internet on his PokéGear, although it took longer because they were so far into the wilderness that Wi-fi didn't reach. A black screen came up with a foreign number just as the PokéGear vibrated.

"...Hello?" Lucas pressed the answer button, although he limited the conversation to chat. The box where the video feed was supposed to come in stayed black. "Who's this? ...Oh, you're looking for Mr. Daniel. Okay."

Daniel turned at his name. Now that the rafts were practically touching, Daniel only had to reach to get the PokéGear, unlike when they were moving when the rafts were probably a few yards apart from each other.

"Who is it?" He asked. Lucas just shrugged, although now that he had nothing to do, he decided to go into the forest and find someone to talk to. Megan had to go after him so he wouldn't get lost. Alone, Daniel answered the phone. "...Hello?"

"_Daniel, it's me_."

It was his Dad.

Relief flooded through him, because honestly he had been expecting an insane assassin who would tell him in riddle-form that he had twenty-four hours to give him 'x' amount of money before Megan would be brain-drained completely. Some situation that would've been.

"How'd you get this number?" Daniel inquired, leaning back casually against the inflated raft.

"_I know people at the agency_." His Dad responded casually, like it was something he did every day. Breaking into old-school cabinets and shuffling through a manila folder until he found a number, and repeating that fifty times until he found the one nearest Daniel. "_Now, I need you to reach into the inner sanctions of your mind. I_—"

"That's a disturbing process..." Daniel said, going completely off topic. "I've stored some pretty...ugly images in there. I don't think we need to go back there."

"_FOCUS son. God. Okay, remember that specimen I lost? The one that was half-human, half-pokémon?_"

He paused for a moment, thinking. His Dad was right; he needed to go deep into his memories to salvage that conversation where he was half-listening. Back in the daycare—when he and Megan were still as tight-knit as teenagers. When things weren't as complicated. She told him that something had escaped in his father's lab.

He answered with a, "Yeah...I didn't get all the details though. That's what happens when we play a game of telephone."

"_This is no game Daniel. That specimen is DEADLY. I need you to help me find her."_

"So it's a _girl_..." He trailed off, thinking more about it. Any woman he's passed could've been that creature. Hell, it could even be Megan. The thought of the odds of finding the person scared him. He was willing to do anything to help his Dad. He knew how important this project was, because his Dad had been talking about it ever since it started when he was just a mere little boy at eight. He had grown up hearing scientific jargon, saw the joy in his father's face when there was a break-through, and felt the rage when something went wrong—that's when his Dad started throwing around the easily breakable stuff. With a silent sigh, wishing the stupid project was over, Daniel said, "How can I help?"

His Dad paused for a while, unsure what to tell him. "_That's the problem...we don't have any means of tracking her. The tracker we had implanted in her had already been destroyed as her powers grew. Maybe if we had some sort of pokémon tracker..._"

Light bulb. "Hey, I _do _have a tracker on my Styler—err—it's a radar. It gives me a reading on what pokémon are being hostile or friendly...That way it would be easier to find the ones we need to capture and calm down." Deep in the back of his mind, Daniel knew that his Dad didn't care. He never cared about anything that Daniel dedicated himself to. Maybe that's why he doesn't put much effort into his work.

"_Brilliant!"_

"You really think so?" Daniel's smile was shining. He had made his father a percent happier.

"_Yes. The specimen is HALF pokémon, so in some deranged way or another, she should show up on that radar."_

"So what you're saying is that I should anger the women population, and wherever on the radar comes a red dot, I've found her?" He summed up in his best interpretation. He looked into the forest. His group had been in the woods for some time now. Must've been a lot to unload then..

"_...On second thought, shhhhhh just shhhhhh find shh more shhhhhhhh"_

The line was breaking up. Daniel panicked. What was his Dad saying? Dammit, he's losing reception!

"What did you say? The PokéGear's losing it!" He said.

"_Shhhhhh sure shhhhhhhhh caution, she shhhh kill shhhhhh one strike..."_

It went dead.

* * *

><p>Long after that non-brief bathroom break (Someone fell into a mud pit with their pants around their ankles, not gonna lie), the sky turned from a mesmerizing orange to a creepy dark-blue color in almost five minutes. With the sun down, the leading Wailord had to slow down and use sonar to locate random boulders hiding in the water. Eventually it became so dark that the only light in miles was Lucas's PokéGear's screen. That died almost five minutes into the night because it ran on solar power.<p>

Without light, pokémon didn't see Gret-tear's looming shadow. And now the sounds of the forest were loud and terrifying. There were monkey squeals, owl hoots, and occasionally, someone would feel a spider crawling up their leg. At one point it was really just Jun attempting to creep out Serena, which worked. It resulted in her knocking him into the water. Pita the Panpour rescued him before the rafts pulled away too far. Too bad it wasn't James who fell in, because his pants were still muddy from...

"When are we going to stop?" Lexi asked patiently. She was the only one currently _not _looking at the stars; everyone else was accustomed to smog blocking the view, but out here they saw everything.

"Soon." Daniel answered shortly, not even bothering to check his Styler for the time.

"Are we _there _yet?" Irene whined, bored with the stars too. Daniel started fuming; he _hated _when someone asked that.

"Yes, we're here." Megan's shoulders suddenly lit up with lights. Everyone squinted and found her wearing those same headlight-shoulder pads that Daniel saw her wearing whenever she was riding around the city at night with her Flygon. The lights illuminated a building nearby—Irene gasped! There was a _building_. Most likely with _plumbing_. That meant a toilet.

Lucas was beaming. It was a _building_! It must have _outlets_! He could charge his PokéGear!

But when their raft slowly passed it by, they were all disappointed to find that it was just an abandoned shack. Nevertheless, Daniel got James to stop his Wailord and dock the rafts nearby. Megan and Daniel told the teens to stay in the rafts as they checked out the shack. Meanwhile, Pita was sent on a mission to find a clearing to make camp.

The two rangers didn't speak as they scoped out the shack. Megan pointed the headlights around. The shack had two rooms; the front had an old dusty couch with springs popping out of the cushions, a few stray vases and framed photos with half ripped pictures, and some pokémon training tools that had been dated to almost a century ago. Daniel had found a Macho Brace that had snapped the instant he tried to move a piece. The wall that separated the rooms in the shack had a glass-less window that displayed a small kitchen. There was a stove, microwave, refrigerator, and a blender hidden in the cupboards behind dirty pots and pans.

"It still works." Megan broke the silence as she flipped the switch to the stove. The lower right plate sprang a flame that illuminated the room much brighter than the headlights. She turned it off.

"I'm sure we can cook dinner using these." Daniel said, inspecting some of the cleaner frying pans. It wasn't as badly rusted as the others. Pita gave a monkey cry from the crack in the door. "Let's settle the kids somewhere safe first."

Agreeing that safety comes before curiosity, Megan followed Daniel out of the shack and tried to keep up with Pita as she led them to the spot. It was probably a two minute walk from the shack. It was a simple glade in the shape of a square that was most likely cleared by pokémon who had abandoned the area. There were fallen logs lying around and berry bushes mixing in with bare ones. James's Wailord was still visible from here.

"Pita, go get the kids while we make the fire." Daniel ordered nicely. Pita gave a solute and swung into some trees to retrieve them. Megan's Flygon was allowed out of its pokéball to help find firewood. In an almost unrealistic minute, Flygon returned with two armfuls of half-logs and branches stripped of leafs.

Daniel and Megan began to build a pyramid out of the materials. It looked like they were aiming to construct a mini-bonfire.

Still just the two of them, he felt like he had to change their situation. Make something right. After all...he loved her.

"You must feel kinda stupid right now." He muttered, although he had to wince at how it came out. It could've easily gave off the wrong meaning.

"How so?" Megan asked. Her voice didn't sound ticked off, but that was because she was trying to act level-headed around others. If it was truly just her and Daniel, she would've started spewing like a volcano.

"Breaking us apart." He clarified. "We're kind of stuck together now. You know. Since the kids are _bonding_." A slight tug came to his lips as he used that word to his advantage. The two still hadn't looked up from their building, which made the conversation even more tension-filled. Now they were looking around the grass for rocks to place around the wood.

"No, I don't feel stupid." She said as she placed the rocks into a circle. Then she looked back up at him, straight in the eye. "I don't regret it. And neither should you. Flygon, Hyper Beam."

A bright orange beamed ripped through the air from Flygon's jaws, aiming straight for the constructed bonfire. As the torched pieces of wood fell magically back into place and the embers lit up Megan's dark expression, Daniel collapsed onto the ground and sat.

She didn't know how much those words killed him.

* * *

><p>Everyone was sitting around the bonfire, some on logs, some on the ground. Everyone's pokémon were out and sitting around, making acquaintances with the others. There were doubles of Riolus and Lampents, creepily enough. Daniel and Megan were sitting polar opposites again, flames blocking their view of each other. Everyone just assumed everything was normal. From Daniel's left, everyone sat as so: Ashka and Gerard, expectantly sharing a log, Irene on the floor next to Serena, then Megan sitting on her Flygon's back, then Jun and Lucas sharing a log, then on the floor, James and Lexi, who he was so thrilled to be sitting next to.<p>

Daniel pulled out a bag from his hiking pack. James took a second away from his sustenance pack labeled '_Pomegranate Mix_' to look at it.

"Wazzat?" He asked.

"Marshmallows." Daniel said in the 'duh' tone. "Ever tried roasting marshmallows?"

"Nope, just chicken." James said with a shrug. He returned to his pomegranate mix.

Daniel looked to the others, who stared at the unopened bag with little interest. "_None _of you have roasted marshmallows before? Now that's just sad." He looked at the ones from White Forest. They were sharing a regretful look. What were they hiding?

"I've roasted them!" A hand shot up. Jun was Megan's super-friendly camper. He continued explaining, "I used to live in White Forest. We camped all the time! It took a while to find marshmallows though, because we were having some sort of shortage! We roasted them on sticks with caterpies on 'em."

"Eeeew..." Lexi muttered, feeling like the creepy crawlies were on her. "So...you used to live in White Forest?"

"Just ask Ashka or Gerard." Jun said with a large grin that took up his whole face. Ashka groaned and looked away, and Gerard in turn looked to his shoes and didn't respond.

"Doesn't matter now! Jun is a city boy!" Lucas said proudly, clapping a hand on his bud's shoulder.

Megan stood up just as Daniel ripped open the bag of marshmallows. "I'm going to go look for some metal sticks in the shack." When she was finally out of earshot, almost everyone leaned forward towards Daniel.

"...What?" He laughed nervously. They were all leaning so close as if to hear him whisper a secret.

"So what's up between you two?" Lexi prodded with an innocent smile. Irene gave an enthusiastic nod in agreement.

"I'd like to know as well. The off-and-on is hard to study. What kind of examples are you two setting?" James said, also interested to hear. Lucas just wanted to know how many bases he reached.

"There's nothing to know." Daniel put his hands up in surrender. "You all seen us. We are strictly professional..._friends_." A shot to his heart. He hasn't called her a friend since college.

"Liar~" Irene sang.

"It's pretty obvious you two have something going on. We're not stupid." Ashka pointed out. Although she didn't look it, she was just as curious to the relationship.

Feeling all his energy drained out of fighting his feelings in this argument, Daniel spilled. "Alright, here's how it started." Everyone's eyes were wide with curiosity. Some were lying on the ground propped on their elbows, ready for a good story. Daniel almost laughed at the fact that they were so eager for a bedtime story. "No flashbacks...but...we met in class."

"Lame." Gerard said.

"Hey, if we're continuing the story, I'd like to have a minimum amount of comments."

Everyone shushed Gerard, making him blush a little. Daniel continued.

"Basically, I thought at first she was a friendly girl, who was prettier on the inside than the outside. Your view changes on a person as you grow with them...We were stuck together on Ranger projects, and she was clearly more skilled with the Styler than I was. I was impressed." He looked to Gerard and Serena, the two Rangers in training, as if he expected a comment. "We were friends at that point. Then we were assigned to Hoenn after we graduated. We'd work together on cases, and some of the other rangers would tease us because we'd known each other so well and were practically inseparable..."

"...AND?" Irene was begging for more. It was like her favorite prime-time drama.

"She was my other half." He smiled, staring right into the fire. As if the merry memories would return. "The only thing I had over her was that in emergencies...when a pokémon started chasing us...I didn't run away. Maybe it was because it's harder to escape on a Panpour than a Flygon, I don't know. She seemed annoyed whenever I finished something she started. At that point, you wouldn't think that we liked each other. We went back and forth like Lillipups and Purrloins."

"No wonder the relationship didn't last." Ashka scoffed. She and Gerard never fought like that...She almost fell off the log. Did she just think _that_?

"The fights were in good intentions." Daniel reassured. "I'm going to skip over the first kiss, too sappy..."

"Aww..." Irene whined, really wanting to pry into that scene.

"So we started dating. I don't know, maybe I liked her more than she did me. I felt like she didn't give a hundred percent...When we were placed at separate stations, she wouldn't answer my calls. Or my texts." When Lucas opened his mouth, Daniel said, "_or _tweets...and then when we met up again, she'd treat it like it never happened. I let it slide."

Everyone was looking up at him with worry. They all saw something, _knew _something, that he was denying.

"Doesn't matter I suppose. We were always a rocky couple..." He finished as he heard Megan's footsteps. Everyone fell to a hushed silence, evaluating to themselves how much Daniel was telling the truth about Megan and him.

* * *

><p>The group leaders had passed out in their sleeping bags after a handful of roasted marshmallows. As the embers of the bonfire had shrunken to a small dim that barely lit up the camper's, they all began to talk about their life before this. They had all gathered closer around the fire, speaking in a lower tone to avoid waking up the sleeping pokémon. Lucas had just finished sharing <em>all<em> the details of his last relationship when Lexi had begun to ask about Gerard and Ashka.

"We're just friends." She replied with. Gerard's face was blank, so the others couldn't tell if that was just a lie.

"I'm not convinced." Lexi said. "You two are so...in sync. Plus you guys only talk with each other. Not with us."

"I don't have to tell you my reasons." Ashka snapped back. Lexi's prying smile fell. She sensed that she crossed a line, and dropped it.

"I can understand that." James muttered. Everyone turned their heads to him, but he didn't feel like he was on the spot. In a smaller voice he said, "Call me anti-social, but I enjoy talking to pokémon more than humans...they're my only friends."

Lexi looked at him sympathetically. "You're _my _friend, even if I don't know you." She reached over and gave him a hug, make him blush a little. She broke away, a little flustered that everyone was staring at her with knowing looks. Can't you give people friendly hugs without people thinking that it's _more_? "I'll give you a little tidbit on my life...I have a gigantic family."

"That's a problem?" Irene asked.

"In Castelia, where our apartment is above a store that I can't even afford, where the room is crazy small...yeah, it's a problem. I did so many odd jobs—like waxing some guy's cat—just to help my family get by. I walked around the city so much looking for jobs, some pedestrians thought I was lost." Lexi buried her face into her hand in embarrassment. The memories were still fresh.

"Oh hey, _now _I remember you!" Lucas said in realization. "I mean sure, you're body is hint enough. I thought I'd remember that by now. But uh...now that I look at you more...Yes, you're that insane blonde who fights for true love and crap like that. You preach it to so many little kids at Central Park that sometimes I want to come and...ugh, slap someone." He restrained to slap the closest person, Jun. That would be rude to his friend though.

"That's because true love is important!" She snapped, turning to face him. They were sitting beside each other.

"Love is for losers." He said plainly. Her face became so red that she was willing to slap _his _to match the color. "You should totally look at yourself in the mirror, you look like a fire-type. Speaking of mirrors, you should see _mine_! It can rate you on your hotness. It tells me all the time that I'm an eleven on a scale from one to ten."

Lexi couldn't help herself and dropped her face to laugh. "It lied to you," She managed to say between giggles. Lucas's face fell.

"Oh yeah? Then how would you rate me?" He leaned in closer to her face, either to tease her or to prove to her that his mirror wasn't lying—or maybe even both. This was kissing distance.

Serena gave an un-subtle cough to break the awkward the two were creating. And yes, she _did _take a picture of that.

Lexi backed up, away from Lucas's smirk, and squeaked a "Seven...and a half.". In an attempt to change the subject, she turned to Serena, who immediately regretted making that cough to get attention. "Serena, so how long have you been a photographer?"

"I uh..." Serena shrunk under everyone's stare. "I don't know. It came along with me drawing...I draw what I take a picture of. It's just a hobby."

"Guys, guys! I just realized how close we are to Verdanturf!" Irene said, quickly taking the spotlight, to Serena's relief. Irene was pointing to her PokéGear, displaying a map. "I'm a coordinator, ya know? I bet I'm the only one too. The rest of you guys were talking about being in Trainer class before." She continued to blab about the future contest, and everyone listened half-heartedly. Ashka and Gerard had retired to their sleeping bags, while James was having his fill on sustenance packs and Lucas was tweeting. Lexi seemed to be the only one still focused on Serena, even though Irene was still talking relentlessly.

Soon enough everyone was in their sleeping bag surrounded by their own pokémon, savoring their first day on the road. So far so good, right?

Serena was the last one up, the first one to remember to put out the fire. Now she was flipping through the pictures on her camera. She wasn't in any of them.

She gave a silent sigh, wondering if these people were good enough to trust, or if they'd just push her into the background. It seems like that's how the pictures were interpreting it. If she'd open up too much...There's no telling what might explode.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reviewing last chapter guys! ^_^ It really does make my day, fixes insecurities. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and were able to follow along without forgetting someone...Hmm. To be honest, this time I only looked to see who had which pokemon :D<strong>

**Again, thanks for reading!**


	5. Extrinsic

**Chapter Four - Extrinsic  
><strong>_Next day, Route 116, a few more hours away from Verdanturf Town_

Verdanturf was so close, they could taste it.

The teams had gotten up early that morning to get a head start on the expedition in front of them. According to their maps, they had an almost two-hour ride before the river ended. Everyone had to disperse to a thicket of trees to use the bathroom before they returned to the rafts. To make it faster, two pokémon were hooked to the rafts to pick up speed without flinging them everywhere. So now, along with James's Wailord, Jun's Wailmer swam ahead too. It was really weird to have two whales practically steering them forward.

When they had actually started moving, they were accelerating so fast that the rafts were acting as skipping stones. Everyone desperately tried to cling to the ends of the rafts as if their lives depended on it. The scenery became one big blur as they raced past, cutting time tremendously.

Almost an hour in, the whales began to slow down—but then they came to an abrupt halt, making Daniel's raft lurched forward and hit Wailord. He, Ashka, Gerard, Lexi, and Irene smacked into Wailord's tail.

"Hey! Why'd we stop?" Irene shouted to James, who was watching the spectacle from atop his pokémon. Ashka and Gerard were working together to flip the raft back over, while Lexi and Daniel were treading water.

"The river ends here!" James said, pointing ahead.

"It can't!" Megan said in disbelief, looking down to her styler. "It hasn't been nearly long enough to—...oh." She gave an apologetic smile and shut her styler with a snap after reading the map.

The other raft sloshed around as it flipped back over, untwisting the ripcords. All of the hiking packs that had been tied down to it were gone. When everyone reassembled onto the raft, Lexi peered down into the water. This end was shallow...enough. It was maybe ten, twelve feet down. Their black packs were all clustered together on the river floor.

"Someone want to go get those?" She asked, pointing downwards. Everyone in the raft swapped looks, wondering which sucker was most skilled in swimming at the moment. And then everyone looked to their Ranger, Daniel.

He knew their stares. He shook his head. "Why do _I _have to go? It's because I have thick legs, isn't it? You guys suck."

"You're also the only one wearing a bathing suit." Gerard pointed out.

Daniel scoffed. "Facts." He said with a wave of his hand. He turned over to Megan. "Hey, you're wearing a swimsuit too. Help me lug those things up."

Megan looked reluctant, but she knew how important those bags were and jumped into the water regardless, spraying Jun and the web-surfing Lucas. Daniel tossed Pita's pokéball out, releasing the Panpour from her pokéball. He lowered himself into the water feet-first, conscious that the others were looking at him, judging him on his leadership.

"James, get the rafts on land while you're waiting!" He called up to James, who gave a sailor salute. Just as the rafts began to pull off, Daniel asked Gerard if he could use the goggles always sitting around his neck, to which he was hesitant to give. Eventually, Daniel got them, and slipped them on. With a silent nod, he, Megan, and Pita went under water.

The river was clear for the most part, apart from the debris and litter across the surface. There wasn't much pokémon around excluding the wandering Tentacool and Lotad near the bottom. There seemed to be an absence of them the closer to the surface. Pita helped drag the two rangers downwards, but then there was a faint _beep beep beep _coming from their stylers. Only Megan heard it, and she worriedly looked around as she was familiar to the sound.

With only a few seconds of air left, she grabbed a pack in each hand and kicked to the surface. Pita took one as well, rising like a bullet to the surface. Daniel was clasping his hands around the remaining two packs when a shadow passed overhead.

With one look, he found a _Milotic_.

But Milotic didn't look happy, despite being beautiful and incredibly rare in these waters. Its scales glittered in the sun, and Daniel checked his beeping styler. It instantly opened to the radar screen. There was one dot on the screen, blinking red. It was identified to be a Milotic—the one thrashing above him.

He placed the styler between his teeth and kicked off the ground with the packs in his hands, but they were anchoring him down like dumbbells. Milotic spotted him and froze in the water. Daniel's lungs were ready to implode.

"Pan!" Pita's cry came clear from above and she swooped down and took one of the packs, bringing it to the surface. Milotic lunged for Daniel.

Panicking, he dropped the last pack and raced for the surface. He took a long gasp when he reached the air, half blinded by sunlight, but something snagged on his foot and his gasp was pulled short as he was dragged under. The watching teens gasped and Megan dove back in for him, followed by Pita, who had dropped off the pack she was holding to Irene.

"What's going on down there?" Irene cried, hugging her damp hiking pack as if it were protection.

"I'd know if Daniel hadn't taken my goggles." Gerard grumbled.

"I'll find out." Ashka said, leaning over the raft with a pokéball poised. She gave it a toss, releasing her Prinplup into the water. Leaving her shoes and hoodie with Gerard, Ashka bravely jumped into the water and held onto her Prinplup as it snaked into the water.

Everyone stared after her, wondering who was next to go. Lexi stared at Gerard, expecting him to go after Ashka.

"What?" He said, catching her staring. "I don't have any water pokémon. Why don't _you _go?"

"No no, I'm good here...I'll be moral support." She laughed nervously and looked back into the water.

There was a loud splash, followed by Megan, Daniel, Pita, and Ashka and her Prinplup shooting up in the air and landing in the water, just as a Milotic hopped into the air after them like a persistent shark. Jun watched in fascination and Serena caught pictures of Milotic before it went back under.

_Go back! _Daniel was signaling to Ashka, knowing it was too dangerous for her to be here. Ashka feverishly shook her head, releasing air bubbles.

Milotic was going after Megan now, who was trying to resurface for air. Daniel took his styler and aimed, but Milotic turned its head and rampaged for him instead. He cursed and jumped to the surface. Ashka nudged Prinplup to do a move as Milotic was distracted.

It opened its beak and fluttered its wings, sending flakes of frost towards Milotic.

_Not Blizzard! _Ashka wanted to yell in frustration, but it was too late to take it back. The temperature had dropped dramatically and she needed to kick to the surface.

Daniel had gotten on land and was aiming for Milotic as Megan held on to its neck for her life, trying desperately to stay on instead of getting whipped off. Milotic was acting like a bull and was thrashing around, making Megan squeeze onto the slippery skin tighter.

Ashka's Prinplup returned with the forgotten hiking pack and threw it onto the raft, which had been pulled onto land. All the teens were standing on the ground and cheering for Megan to wrestle the pokémon down. Ashka climbed out of the water returned her Prinplup, still shivering from the blizzard-induced water.

"Give me that," She snapped, snatching her hoodie from Irene, who had tried it on for fun.

"Someone needs to stop them so I can recharge my battery in town!" Lucas said, squinting in the sunlight. "My solar-charger got ruined in my bag!"

"There are more important things than your PokéGear at the moment." Lexi replied, one hand resting on her hip.

He turned his body towards her like a snake, creeping her out. "Oh yeah, like what? Sappy _love_?"

Lexi's face turned a lovely shade of strawberry, and Lucas's mouth morphed to a smirk.

Serena gave a shriek as Milotic tossed Megan off its back and started heading for them and the pair of whales. Daniel cursed and went after Megan, clipping his styler to his belt. Gerard's eyes shrank as Milotic sprang their way like a skipping stone.

"SNAKE!" James wailed as Milotic landed on the ground. Everyone fled, running in different directions.

_Wait a second, _Ashka thought, hiding behind Wailord, _it's just a WILD pokémon! And we _have_ pokémon! _Lexi seemed to have the same idea too, but when Ashka saw her go through her bag, she saw her pull out a pokémon egg in a silver case instead, checking to see if it was intact. _She has one _too_?_

"Renper, let's go!" James called, throwing up a pokéball. His Luxray popped out, lunging straight for the chaotic Milotic that was throwing Water Pulses at all the teens it saw. Daniel was helping Megan out of the river when Lucas threw out his Pachirisu and Irene her Luxio. Jun's Luxio was guarding him instead of joining the fight.

"Call them back into their pokéballs! Milotic is too strong for them!" Daniel yelled, reaching for his styler again. James, Lucas, and Irene ignored him and commanded their pokémon to use electric attacks on Milotic. Bright rods of lightning in different directions erupted onto Milotic's scales, but it twisted its body and shook it off like it was nothing. The three were soon realizing that the wild pokémon was far stronger then there's.

"Flygon, catch it!" Megan released her Flygon. It flew around Milotic, acting as a helicopter to its skyscraper. The electric pokémon scurried back to their trainers as Flygon grabbed Milotic by the tendrils and chucked it into the water.

The _beep, beep _coming from Megan and Daniel's stylers fell to a hush. Everyone else seemed to be silent and on their toes as well. Milotic dove into the water and fled back down the river, leaving everyone else with a mental scar of what could've been, had there been more than one.

* * *

><p>From the river's end, the walk to town only took another half hour, making the time they arrived in Verdanturf to be 9:23 am. By then, all the complaints of aching feet and need of water refills had faded when they reached city gates. Their walk through Rusturf tunnel had been pleasantly silent and free of dangerous pokémon, though there was the occasional complain from Irene that it was <em>dark<em>. Lucas had trouble with reception and James was using the last of his packed sustenance packs for comfort food.

Verdanturf Town seemed to be a quaint little place with more grass than road. There were small cube-like robots like at the airport in Nimbasa floating around and out of harm's way. Some of them clustered together and formed a sign pointing to places like the Pokémon Center, PokéMart, and Contest Hall.

"We're staying at the Pokémon Center today." Megan said, leading the group with a wave of her hand. "Verdanturf is just a pit stop to most travelers who are heading to Mauville, so there were plenty of openings for us. Let's go."

Gerard stayed back and waited for Daniel to catch up at the back of the line. His goggles were long returned to him, yet they still had that faint 'Daniel' smell to them.

Daniel stopped too, noticing Gerard wasn't following.

"Having problems walking, big guy?" He teased as Gerard took baby steps forward.

"Why couldn't you use your styler to capture that Milotic?"

Daniel frowned. Gerard had that question in his eyes the whole walk here. It was just a matter of time before he asked. Daniel shook his hand and guided Gerard back to the group. "That's a thing of the past Gerard. Let's keep moving."

Gerard reluctantly dropped the subject just as a stranger came out of nowhere and screamed, "_STOP_!". The whole group stopped and stared. Who was _this_?

It was one of the local pokémon breeders, complete with a bandanna and apron. "My name is Isaac." He said, eyeing each and every confused teen. "I'm here to challenge one of you kids as part of the Summer Trek!"

"Oh yeah," Megan said faintly, as if now just remembering. "That's one of the challenges for the journey...Being battled by random locals. Maybe later; we need to get the pokémon fed first."

"Aww, but I wanted to battle!" Irene whined. "It would've been good practice for the contest!"

Isaac swatted his hand in her direction. "Nah, I don't battle coordinators. Only trainers!" He waved his pointed finger around at the teens, skipping over Irene. "You!" He pointed at Ashka, who was leaning against a lamp post with her arms crossed, looking nonchalant.

"No thanks." She shot him down.

"It wouldn't be wise to battle locals anyway." Daniel said with a nod. "You can never tell how much experience they have. Isaac could be really strong or really...not."

"Let me battle him!" Lexi volunteered, raising a random pokéball from her belt. Megan didn't want to be a part of the train wreck and took her group of three (Lucas, Jun, Serena) to the 'Center. Ashka, Gerard, and Irene followed. Daniel clapped a hand on Lexi's shoulder, a gesture he seems to do a lot I've noticed.

"That wouldn't be smart. Can't you see how strong he is?" He asked, peering into Lexi's face to see what would lead her to do something so reckless. "You're almost a junior. You should be able to analyze your opponents by now."

She and James were the only ones left of the group just standing there staring at Isaac. Isaac's bandana was tied incorrectly, translating to a sloppy battle style. But his jeans looked like they had been dipped in mud, and he was naturally dirt-covered all over. That must've meant that he spent a lot of time training instead of showering. Lastly, he was carrying a bucket of pokéballs; but that could easily mean that he doesn't train all his pokémon that well just to keep up with them all.

"I think you have a good chance of beating him." James whispered to her.

"I think so too." She whispered back, still gripping her pokéball. He practically blushed at being responded to. Lexi _barely _speaks to him whenever he brings up conversation; but usually the conversation's topic was aimed towards the humidity of the weather or the possibilities of little green men in foil suits. This was a step in the right direction to him.

"So then what? Who am I battling?" Isaac said, waiting impatiently a few yards away.

"Don't do it." Daniel warned.

"I accept your challenge!" Lexi said, raising the pokéball she intended on using. "And if I win, I get...uh..."

"A strawberry-flavored sustenance pack! That was what I was told to wager!" Isaac finished for her.

James's eyes bugged out. "Oh my God. STRAWBERRY." He found himself clutching a part of her shirt. "LEXI. I NEED THAT!"

"Calm down, I'll win it for you." She said, prying off his fingers.

"I'm just going to catch up with the others at the 'Center." Daniel interjected, wanting to be nowhere near the battle, where he'd most likely get frustrated looks from the troopers. He knew they underestimated the breeder. The Director had planned the journey with enough complicated things to keep the teens occupied for the duration of the summer. This was challenge number one.

After pacing themselves some distance apart, Isaac sent out his pokémon—a Mightyena. Lexi's eyebrows furrowed. Well, looks like things weren't going to be as easy as his appearance had made it look. Mightyena had a dirt-matted coat that was ruffled beyond belief, almost to the point where you'd think that it was never brushed. Mightyena's jaw drooled while open, and its hind legs were positioned to lunge at any moment. Lexi was a little worried for her pokémon now. Was it too late to duck out?

"Scrafty! Let's dance!" With that, she tossed up a pokéball, causing it to open wide and spit out a white beam that materialized into a lizard about the size of a yardstick with the most bored expression on its face. He still had headphones around his neck. Lexi paused the battle for a second to take the headphones before they were ruined, and placed them around her own neck. Finally, the battle commenced.

"Use Bite!" Isaac started off strong. Mightyena's waiting hind legs sprang it forward at an alarmingly fast rate, making Lexi shriek a quick,

"Jump over it!" Scrafty caught Mightyena's head and used it to propel him forward, than span around and swiped Mightyena's bum with Dragon Claw. Shreds of unruly fur drifted off Mightyena's mane. "Now use Brick Break!" Lexi commanded.

"Me First!" Isaac said. It was a move, not a whine to go first as Lexi had thought. Mightyena's eyes flashed and Scrafty paused mid-move, as if forgetting what it was doing. Mightyena charged forward, it's front paws exploding with so much power that the ground shook with every step that it took. Its paws smashed brutally onto Scrafty's abdomen, sending Scrafty coiling backwards in pain.

"Scrafty!" Lexi shrieked in worry. Scrafty looked ready to barf up breakfast.

"Seems we miscalculated." James noted, watching the battle carefully. Lexi was getting irritated with him and his comments.

"Oh shut up!" She groaned, one hand getting lost within her tangled hair. James frowned and took it as a blow with a hammer. He stayed silent.

"Giving up yet?" Isaac called from the other side of the field.

"No!" Lexi roared. James noticed how she had suddenly lost her supportive, friendly side for a ruthless, angry battle personality. She yelled for Scrafty, "Head Smash, right now!"

"But Lexi, you would lose more than you'd gain if you use that move." James said reasonably.

"I don't want your advice!" She snarled, one of her fists ready to punch him if he didn't stop talking. James took a few steps back and watched as Scrafty rammed forward blindly at Mightyena with its chin burrowed in its chest.

"Dodge!" Isaac called. Mightyena leaped out of the way just as Scrafty passed, and it didn't know when to stop and collided straight into one of the white picket fences nearby. Lexi shook her head a bit and blinked. Suddenly reality set in when Scrafty was still lying there five seconds later.

"Scrafty!" She called after it, running.

"I'll take that as a win." Isaac grinned and left without a proper goodbye, his Mightyena following obediently. Lexi pried Scrafty away from the bits of broken fence and fished her Pokédex out of her pocket and scanned him. It gave a green light, signaling that Scrafty wasn't hurt fatally.

James was hesitant to come over and comfort her on the loss. He was still a bit scared that she was going to bite his head off.

"Hey, umm, good job out there. I think we should head over to the 'Center though, 'cause everyone else is there, and Scrafty needs to be healed, and..." He quit stammering and just started walking. He knew she wasn't listening.

And when he turned his head to see if she was following, his thoughts were confirmed. Instead, Lexi was wearing Scrafty's headphones to block out his voice.

* * *

><p>The 'Center was bustling with activity as several other groups from the summer trek program were gathering in town. Naturally, with the number of groups, someone's going to have the same route as the other. Megan and Daniel called their kids to the far side of the lobby near the rotten ficus and half-functioning air-conditioning system. James and Lexi arrived moments later looking shaken up from the amount of people around.<p>

"I thought you said it would just be us!" Irene whined to Megan, who had been the one promising the most promises. Someone had just walked by and accidentally clocked her with his heavy duffel bag. Ashka consciously tightened her grip on her egg case in fears that someone would snatch it.

"There are over twenty groups," Megan answered calmly. "We're bound to run into _some _of them."

"Define _some_." Gerard muttered sarcastically.

James, beside him, recited, "A certain unspecified number or amount." Although everyone was ignoring him to care.

Daniel started walking around them with a bucket. "Everyone give me your pokémon and I'll drop them off with Nurse Joy! That includes _eggs_." He shot a look at Ashka.

"How are you going to know whose pokéballs are whose?" Lexi inquired as Gerard and Ashka dropped their pokéballs into the bucket one by one, listening to every _ping _as they hit the bottom.

"By putting your hand on them, like this." Lucas snatched her hand and placed it on his heart. Her face went red as she took her hand back.

"It's something we'll worry about later." Daniel shrugged. "I'm sure technology has advanced enough that we can figure who is in what without letting them all out."

"I labeled mine!" James said enthusiastically as he hopped up and down, although he looked pretty ridiculous doing it. The only one who could actually pull off doing that without looking stupid was Jun. Daniel finished collecting the pokéballs and two egg cases and ducked into the crowd of teens and rangers to drop off the pokémon at the front desk with Nurse Joy.

"Does everyone have a map of the town?" Megan said, trying to be heard over the chatter in the lobby. They all said yes and pulled out their PokéGears with the map app. "I'm putting you all on my tracking list so I won't start worrying that you're doing something stupid." She synced her styler with everyone's PokéGear, although they were reluctant to always have her motherly ghost nearby.

"I see they're still having contest sign ups." Jun suddenly said, bored with the waiting for all the PokéGears to sync up. His eyes were pointing at a white electronic banner above the front desk that had a bulletin sweeping across every few seconds saying 'Sign up for the pokémon contest today! Entries end at five tonight'.

"You should enter!" Lucas said, nudging Irene. She nervously looked around to see that everyone was staring at her expectantly.

"You sure did brag enough about winning it to have the confidence." Ashka taunted coldly. She sounded so sure of herself, that everyone believed her words and prodded Irene to sign up.

"I-I don't know! Can I?" Irene looked to Megan, silently wishing she would say no.

Megan looked away from her styler for a second. "Of course you can! This journey is all about learning. You should go for every opportunity that presents itself."

Irene's face fell, but she quickly lifted it up before anyone noticed. "Okay then. I'll sign up." Everyone chanted and cheered her on as she made her way to the signup podiums beside the front desk. She stared at the monitor. The contest was preliminary, meaning that she didn't need a coordinating license to enter. With a nervous smile, she filled in her information with a scan of her ID card.

The screen went _BLAH! _and rejected her ID, saying 'NO PASS ON RECORD'.

She quickly hid the message with her body from anyone nearby who was watching. _Right, this ID isn't...real._

* * *

><p>When Daniel returned to the spot where his group was, faster now that the crowd had thinned, he found that everyone but Megan and Gerard had disappeared.<p>

"They all went out to explore." She said to him as he took a seat across from Gerard. "I went and dispersed the keycards while you were gone." She tossed him his key.

"Why didn't you go?" Daniel asked Gerard as he caught the laminated card. "I'm sure you don't need our permission to go anywhere. Well, except the bar. I don't give you permission to go there."

"I have a question for you." Gerard said, crossing his arms.

_Uh oh. That's what got my Six Flags season pass revoked. _Daniel thought. "Go ahead."

"Why didn't you capture that Milotic earlier?"

"Not that question." Daniel immediately responded. He sighed when Gerard gave him a blank look. "It's a thing of the past. Why must you bring it up?"

"I'm just disappointed, that's all." Gerard muttered. "I was sort of looking forward to observing your ranger skills."

Daniel looked over at Megan with a pleading look, hoping for a loophole out of this conversation.

"There are more methods to calming pokémon." She offered. "We have to adapt our capturing styles to match the situation. With that Milotic, it was too difficult to keep it still enough to use the styler. That's why."

"Yeah, what she said." Daniel agreed. But Gerard wasn't satisfied, and gave him the same blank stare. "...What do you want from me? A demonstration?" He sighed, knowing that would be the only way to get Gerard off his back. He led him outside and took out his styler, and waited for the radar app to load. Daniel pointed to the blinking red dot at the top right corner of the screen. "That's where we'll find the pokémon."

"Let's go then." Gerard's ghost of a grin didn't last long. It took them a total of ten minutes to get to the edge of town where the blinking dot was. They stopped a few yards away, hiding in the trees. A Shiftry was angrily pacing outside of an old hut, but the hut was a restaurant and one of the working waiters was glancing at it every few seconds from the window.

"Hey, it's not causing any harm. We should just go." Daniel quickly said, turning around. Gerard caught the neck of his vest before he got far enough.

"This is your chance to be the hero. Go get it."

Daniel groaned silently, knowing that Gerard wouldn't let it go unless he captured a pokémon successfully. He readied his styler and told Gerard to stay at a good distance in case Shiftry started attacking.

"Capture, on!" Daniel called, pressing the release button on his styler. A thin metal baton with a rubber grip escaped from the top, and he caught it nimbly. Shiftry whipped around, facing him. It's feet plowed into the ground like a bull. He took the baton and pressed another button on his styler. Rings of light shot out of the end of the baton, enveloping Shiftry. Shiftry's eyes narrowed and it whipped it's arms together, creating a tornado. Daniel span the baton wider to widen the rings circling around Shiftry.

_BANG! _The wind sliced through the light, causing it to fade in an instant. Daniel tried again, but Shiftry attacked the lines again, causing his styler to beep at the sign of low battery.

"Pita, get out here!" Daniel threw up Pita's pokéball, and seconds later she appeared on the ground near Shiftry. The new opponent just seemed to make it angrier. "Use Scald upwards!"

Pita faced the sky and spouted boiling water like a geyser. While Shiftry was distracted, Daniel threw the rings of light around Shiftry again and tightened the rings, swirling the baton as fast as he could. Twenty, thirty, forty loops. He checked his styler. Shiftry still wasn't calm! Pita's water display was over, and Shiftry was at full attention. _BLAM! _He charged right into the rings, cracking the loop like glass. The light on Daniel's baton faded.

He ran out of battery.

"Crap," He muttered, wondering what to do now. His styler was completely out of battery, and it would take a few more minutes before the solar charger could get it back online. He'd completely forgotten about Gerard, who was still hiding in the tree. "Gerard! You try to calm it!"

Gerard shook his head and looked down at his styler. "My styler can only capture calm creatures. It's not the exact same thing as yours."

"We're screwed." Daniel muttered, face palming. He tumbled out of the way as Shiftry barreled towards him.

"Capture, on!"

The two guys looked up as Megan on her Flygon arrived on the scene, ponytail whipping from the wind. Her baton shone brighter than Daniel's baton had. "Flygon, use Earth Power!"

Flygon pumped it's paw downward, causing the earth under Shiftry to give way. While distracted, Megan aimed the rings of light at it and expertly span her baton. Her loops were long, strong, and not as stringy as Daniel's shoddy work. She slashed her baton in mid-air, and the rings of light were sucked into Shiftry's body. It instantly sagged like it had smoked something, its anger dissipating. Flygon landed and Megan hopped off it's back. She stuffed her baton back into her styler and looked to Daniel, who was facing the ground with a scowl.

"I received a distress call from your dying styler." She muttered, eyes refusing to meet his as well. She swiftly left with Shiftry in tow, intent on dropping it off in the forest somewhere. Gerard stepped out from the bushes and joined Daniel out in the open.

"What happened out there?"

"...She's a Rank B ranger." Daniel whispered, feet dragging him back towards town. Gerard and Pita followed slowly.

"And you?"

"...Nowhere near that."

* * *

><p>The next day arrived slowly and Daniel was waiting in front of the contest hall with Irene. The building had twirling pillars and marble steps. It was an architectural feat to people who weren't familiar to pokémon contests. Daniel and Irene looked out on town for the others who were late. The contest was going to start soon and Irene needed to go get ready, but Daniel didn't want to go inside until everyone was here. Megan and her troopers were already inside and seated.<p>

"Go inside. We'll catch up later." He told Irene as he checked the time. She was reluctant to go, but stood up from her seat on the steps and plowed inside. James walked around from the side, sucking on a sustenance pack. Daniel gave him a look.

"WHAT?" James cried, bending the straw to his drink. "It was 99 cents!"

"Those things are just knockoffs of real food." Daniel said. As James ascended the staircase, Daniel spotted Lexi and her Scrafty across from them at the park, heading their way. They were both bopping their heads to a song that a jazz band was playing nearby. Ashka and Gerard were arriving at the sidewalk a few feet away with emotionless expressions.

When everyone finally got to the doorstep, he led them inside and past the grand hall and video-frames of past Grand Festival winners. It was like they entered a movie theater. They were soon surrounded by candy vendors and souvenirs. The hallway was circular and circled around the whole arena, although one section was cut off for backstage preparation. There were plenty of doors to enter through to the descending seats.

"Can we get box seats?" Lexi asked as they entered the seating rows. It was like a football arena, except there was a stage below instead of a field. It was a sea of theatre chairs enough to seat fifteen _thousand_.

"Nope." Daniel grinned and led them to where Megan had seated her group, about the twenty-fourth row from the bottom in section H. So basically, they were near the middle. The stage towered over the first five rows of seats, but those were all ready filled with celebrities who wanted the neck-breaking view.

"We've got a problem." Megan said as Daniel took the seat next to her. "Jun just received a call from Irene. She's got a case of the nerves."

"What do you want _me _to do about it?" He scoffed. "I say we let one of the other kids go cheer her on. But not Jun. He'll probably make her more nervous."

"One of the seniors." She speculated, now talking in whispers. "That'll give her more confidence."

"I vote Gerard, just to piss Ashka off." Daniel chuckled. He and Megan peered over past the sustenance-pack-vacuum James and always-looking-bored Ashka to Gerard, who was getting up to buy him and Ashka some popcorn. "Hey Gerard! Go backstage and pep talk Irene!"

"…Why?" Gerard said, not even remembering who Irene was. She was the whiner, right?

"She's having issues. Jun will come with you." Megan said, smiling sweetly. Jun gave a big grin and hopped down the aisle to join Gerard.

_Dammit. Stuck with HIM…_Gerard grimaced and followed Jun back up to the main hall, ignoring Ashka's teasing grin towards him. The two silently headed to the back hall. Gerard had to admit, he expected Jun to start going on in his annoying happy-go-lucky way and start talking about life in White Forest before he moved to Castelia. Gerard remembered Jun as a little kid, still as annoying as ever. Jun sometimes knocked on his door in the morning to borrow a sustenance pack or two. But it was something Jun did every morning; he knocked on everyone's door and asked for donations for a charity nearby.

The two arrived backstage, expecting someone to be guarding the door for non-entrants. Luckily, there was no one there to stop them.

"You can go ahead." Jun chimed. "I'll stand here in case someone comes."

"You just don't want to go into the ladies dressing room." Gerard grumbled, hesitating to enter himself. He pushed his goggles on and slid into the room, finding the main lobby area empty except for one girl on a beanbag, who didn't even look up from her video game to notice him. He went farther down where the stalls and mirrors were.

Irene screamed.

He stared at…_her_.

The stars. The gun. The cream shredded-skin sitting at her feet. He sucked in his breath as he stared at the robin-egg skinned blue-haired creature with protruding leg scales and ears shaped as trumpets.

There was no doubt now.

There was an alien in Verdanturf town.

* * *

><p><strong>YES. I fiiiinally updated...blame my lazy self. Darn you summer! Well, I hope this chapter was excitingunpredictable/awesomeness in a can. Whatever you think, tell me :D**

**And THANK YOU THANK YOU ArrowTLC7 for reminding me that you guys are waiting...I needed the guilt. If you guys hadn't already, be sure to add the story to your story alert list so you don't have to check back all the time!**

**P.S. Any errors you see, I promise to fix later! But I'm being pushed out of the house now. What to do. *shrug***


	6. Unmasked

**Chapter Five - Unmasked  
><strong>_Mossdeep Research Facility, around the time of the Contest in Verdanturf_

In the Mossdeep Research Facility, things were going haywire as machines beeped and biodegradable papers were being printed endlessly in the form of a long, foldable sheet. Santa's naughty-and-nice list had nothing on the rows of paper flooding the central observation deck. Osmond Bay, one of the few lead scientists left of the Hybrid Project, was just coming up the spiral staircase in the middle of the main deck when disaster struck.

"What is going on here?" He shouted, the wrinkles on his forehead becoming visible from frustration. "I just wanted to use the fax, and then you guys go and mess things up!"

"We're doing very important work." One of the people gathering all the paper said. Others were trying to stop the printer and all the buttons on the circular-dashboard from flashing. Mr. Bay went over to the abandoned large telescope pointed at the sky that went through the ceiling.

Something was flashing in the sky. And it was close.

"Is that one of our ships?" He asked the closest person nearby, who happened to be a helpless intern.

"It's not," said the same person from before, now piling the paper onto tables nearby. "We believe we've spotted aliens! It's a marvelous break-through!"

"You know my son, Daniel," Mr. Bay said, magnifying the view on the telescope, "He says he's noticing weird things in the sky. I keep telling him it's pokémon. They like messing with us. Are your scanners working?"

The telescope displayed a very clear image of space from a flat screen monitor on the closest wall. It was definitely a space ship, but none of _his _species. But before he could capture a picture, everything went offline. On the screen, in the room, in the entire city.

A peculiar black out.

* * *

><p>Irene was <em>blue<em>. Completely, utterly, blue. Same face, different skin and topical features. Gerard's face, minus the goggle-covered eyes, was completely paralyzed. At first, he was thinking, _paint_? _Costume_? Anyone could dress up as a freak these days. But the fact that she had her previous skin _shredded _at her three-toed feet, must've meant that she was in fact _not _human.

He hastily wielded a pokéball in front of him, afraid that the 'thing' in front of him had some secret ability. "What the—what _are _you…? Why—don't you come any closer!"

"Don't tell anyone!" She shrieked, assuming he knew everything. "You'll ruin everything!"

"I don't even know what I'm seeing…" He said, blinking again and again.

"You're not Jun! You'll never understand!" She shrieked, stepping closer. But he took another step back. He didn't want her to touch him. Her feet were making burn marks in the marble floor.

_Jun_? He thought. _Jun knows that Irene is some creepy thing? _It's understandable. Jun was a nice fellow and could probably stomach the sight in front of him.

"Don't you dare run out there! You'll tell everyone!" She said, reaching for his arm. He recoiled, instantly knowing her touch would burn. He wondered how her silvery dress wasn't catching on fire.

"I have no choice…We've got this..._alien _on the planet!" Saying it like that, he felt like he was part of this big saving-the-world plot.

"NOT an ALIEN!" She said, her eyes bright and blazing. Might as well say she had heat vision too. "I was born on this planet! I've lived in Black City my entire life! I've breathed your diesel-filled air more than whatever planet my people reside on!"

"Your people," He said, surprised that she admitted she was an alien this fast, "There's _more _of you…?"

Her eyes narrowed. "One peep about this," She put up a single finger, dotted by lighter blue specks and craters, "And you're _toast_." She only had to lay one finger on his chest to make a hole right through his shirt. His eyes widened. This was _real_. He wasn't alone in this universe.

_There _are_ such things as aliens_, he thought as he ran, ran past the knowing Jun and down the corridor, _we're not alone in this universe. The starry nights that Ashka and I stare at, we share._ When he returned to his seat next to Ashka, she noticed that he was scarily pale.

"Something wrong?" She asked softly, putting a comforting hand on his forearm.

He consciously pulled his sweater over the hole in his shirt. "There are more of them." He whispered in fascination. Ashka stared back, unsure what he was talking about. Gerard was staring straight ahead, on stage where the curtain was tilted slightly. He caught Irene's eye glaring at him.

From what he could see, she was back to a human appearance.

* * *

><p>Soon, the entire coliseum's lights went to a dim, and the mega audience fell to an unrealistic hush. (Surely with that many people, it'll never be silent.) The stage itself gave off a glow like it was a glow stick. Disco lights roamed around the stage in a rainbow of colors, and balloons spewed from the back of the arena, floating all the way back on stage. A circular platform in the middle of the stage rose, and standing there was the host of the afternoon.<p>

"_Welcome everyone to Verdanturf's Preliminary Contest!" _The woman's voice echoed from the futuristic headset she was wearing. She herself had long, silver hair with rainbow-streaks that seemed to defy gravity. She seemed very young despite her hair color, and was freakishly tall, probably the result of very tall parents. She wore a pure white jumpsuit that covered everything, and was thin like a second skin. The arena cheered her on as the mega screen behind her filmed her face. "_Along with coordinators and their appeals, we have live acts, random death-defying stunts, and cotton candy on sale for three dollars a bag! Everyone, please turn to your left armrest!"_

The teens, all whom have never seen a contest in person before, all turned to their armrests with the sliding control panel with the various buttons. There was one for a vibrating massage, air-conditioning, cup holders, trash chute, and assistance button.

"The massage is actually very relaxing." Daniel said to Megan and Serena, who hadn't abused that button like he did.

"_Here in our contests, we rate our coordinators. That means the audience, YOU, decides who goes to the battle rounds! The voting box is attached to the underside of the armrest. When it lights up blue, put in your rating from one to ten! It's very straightforward." _The woman on stage smiled as the platform she was on began to lower. "_My name is Aika, and we are starting with coordinator number one, Farah!" _The platform came back up with someone different.

"What number is Irene?" Daniel asked anyone around him who knew.

"Fifth." Megan answered, squinting as a colorful explosion erupted on stage from Farah's Mismagius. Everyone pulled the thin plastic piece wired to the armrest from its holder and pressed the number they thought suited the performance.

"Three? That's pretty harsh." Gerard said, noting Ashka's choice.

"It was unoriginal." She muttered, lifting a shoulder to shrug. "Rainbows are _so _a century ago. I want to be _wowed_."

"What number did you pick Gerard?" Jun asked down the line of seats.

Gerard winced at having to converse with Jun. Not wanting to seem rude in front of so many people, he answered with, "Four."

Ashka snorted. "Who's unfair in judging now?" He smiled in return and nudged her endearingly.

"This thing doesn't get internet!" Lucas wailed, going through all the menu's on the voting card.

"...It's just an armrest." Lexi muttered, leaning on her hand.

She went on ignored because James agreed with Lucas, saying, "There needs to be more buttons to press!"

The festivities continued on for the next three contestants. The metallic disco curtains hanging behind stage didn't seem to have any use other than décor and serve as a wall between the stage and the lobby of coordinators wanting a front row seat. Aika's voice still echoed throughout the arena, even though she was nowhere in sight.

"_Next we have Irene Connor from Black City!"_

Irene emerged from the rising platform wielding a wooden staff with a pokéball in its clutches. Gerard felt queasy. He knew her secret. He knew that under that fake skin of hers, something dangerous was brewing. And he couldn't tell anyone.

She flinched under the gazes of millions of people. Irene didn't suspect the turn out to be _this _big, or for the stage to feel _this _unstable. She swallowed the nervousness. Swinging her staff in the air, she called, "Murkrow, let's go!"

The pokéball burst open and hundreds of glittery particles obscured the stage. A blue raven appeared, spreading its wings and scattering the glitter. Its feathers were arranged so that its head feathers resembled a hat, and its tail feathers resembled a broom. Irene span around energetically, and Murkrow flew around her in an anticlockwise motion.

"Start with Faint Attack!"

Murkrow was covered in a dark glow, then, the next second, it disappeared in thin air. It reappeared in the crowd, earning screams from unsuspecting observers. It flashed in and out of several spots, once landing on Daniel's head and snatching his hairs, and then returned to stage, still covered in the glow. It's feathers shone like metal.

"Now, Swords Dance!" Murkrow flew around like a vulture, shimmering blue and black. Ghostly swords materialized out of thin air, following it in a high speed chase. Murkrow soared towards the ceiling, each and every sword following it. "Air Cutter!" Irene braced herself as Murkrow sent whips of air down at the swords, sharpening them. Making them sleeker, more deadlier.

Then Murkrow burst through the swords, dive bombing for Irene's open arms. The swords spun around, went off into different directions, and then aimed right for Murkrow. The next second, every sword impaled Murkrow, giving off a glassy look that made it look like a figurine.

The crowd gasped, but Irene and Murkrow's smirks couldn't be hidden.

The bird, somehow, was still suspended in midair with its wings wrapped around its chest where the points of the swords struck. Murkrow broke through, its wings striking out, cracking every sword like it was nothing. Sparkles rained down.

Irene and Murkrow bowed, ending their appeal. The coliseum erupted into applause and whoops of appraise, lifting both of their sickened stomachs. Irene was close to crying. She couldn't believe that everything went perfectly and just as planned.

Murkrow sat on the staff as the platform lowered, and as Irene listened to the constant _beep_s of voters voting, she met Gerard's taunting gaze.

* * *

><p>"So what do you say to that?" Lexi said after Irene's appeal, her fingers waving over the numbers on the voting device. "I give it an eight. The knife act was unexpected."<p>

Lucas kept pressing buttons, even though his vote was submitted the first time. "Three." He answered, uninterested. "Not enough sparkles. BOOORING."

"Not everything has to be rainbow and glitter," She argued. "Some stunning appeals have to be thought about through the heart's eyes to see its true beauty!"

Lucas stared back, fingers frozen from the screen. "...THAT'S just crap. Were you seriously raised under hippie-community tutelage?"

Her face was red, maybe from anger, maybe from blushing. "The heart wants what the heart wants!"

"My heart wants naked bodies instead." He smirked, turning back to the voting card. She turned away, her eyebrows twitching unnervingly at his comment. Jun was on Lucas's other side.

"If it makes you feel any better, I gave Irene a ten." Jun smiled warmly.

"You gave everyone so far a ten." Gerard mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Ashka, you gave her a two? I thought we were trying to get her to the battle round." It felt weird to him, thinking about Irene as anything but foreign. That was all he was thinking about. Blue skin and trumpet ears. And a hot touch, literally.

"I gave her a nine." She admitted sourly, scowling to her fingernails. "I have to admit...It scared me a bit." She looked down to her empty popcorn bowl. "Aww, crap. You ate all my food Gerard!" She laughed, nudging him playfully. He took her bowl and stood up.

"I'll go get a refill." He said. He turned to everyone else down the aisle, ignoring the appeal on stage. "Anyone else want anything?"

"Sustenance pack!" James ordered, raising his hand and a bill.

Gerard took it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I'm thinking of getting something," Lexi said, getting up from her seat, making it flip back like a tongue. "I'll come with you."

Ashka instantly stood up. "I'm coming." She said, taking the clear plastic bowl from Gerard. "It _is _my popcorn after all."

"Umm...Okay." He muttered, following her and Lexi up the grand steps to the outer shell where all the concession stands were. Ashka hated to admit it, but she didn't like the idea of Gerard being alone with any other girl than her. The fact that Lexi was friendly and wore cute clothes sort of intimidated her. But she wouldn't admit that. If she did, then the others would stop looking up to her. Her respect would fly out the window.

The three split to stands of food they wanted to browse. Irene came from the back hallway, unsteady in her heels. She was ready to confront Gerard. But when she made it up to him after his purchase of several sustenance packs, Ashka was already possessively at his side and glaring at her for approaching.

"Hi..." Gerard drawled awkwardly. It was hard to look at her, knowing she had a different form.

"Did you tell her!" Irene shouted, getting straight to the point. She pointed at Ashka, and Lexi looked up from the stand a few feet away with an eyebrow raised.

"Not that loud Irene; others are reading." Lexi reprimanded.

Irene deflated for a second, then turned right back to the two in front of her.

"Well? Did you?"

"Tell me what?" Ashka said, holding the filled popcorn bowl in one arm while her other hand rested on her hip. "He tells me everything. That's the point of best friends."

Irene looked to Gerard. His eyes were wide. He slyly shook his head slowly.

"Not everything." Irene hissed, slinking away, back to backstage. Ashka watched her leave with an uncertain thought crossing her mind.

"What was that all about?" She asked Gerard, spinning to him.

Gerard shrugged and started for the arena doors. "I dunno. Maybe the hair dye has gone to her head."

* * *

><p>"...Does he know?"<p>

Irene was in an abandoned section of the coordinator's lounge backstage, the Japanese divider beside her serving as a wall. Jun took a seat at the dive sofa next to her.

"I'm calling home." She whispered, holding her tablet device in her lap. It was much similar to Earth's tablets, except this one was darker in color scheme with different décor and could receive transmission several light years in space.

Jun covered part of the tablet with his hand, obscuring the call icon. "Don't do that. You have to prove to them that you're vital to your mission."

"But he _knows_." She whispered, moving his hand. "I can't risk exposure. They'll kill me!"

He wiped the stray tear leaving her eye, but the path had been ruptured. Her cheek skin began to peel like old paint, revealing the blue under it. Irene hurriedly fixed her makeup as Jun took the tablet and positioned it on the coffee table in front of them. The screen opened to a face similar to Irene's other form. There was a spaceship's cock pit in the background.

"_Hello earth probe_." The voice to the other alien was robotic-like.

"Sending sample pictures of Hoenn, route 116." Irene said, pressing a button on her digital camera. As the loading bar swirled, she said, "I've also got bad news to report."

"_We are preoccupied, earth probe. Please hold further communication until alerted._"

"What's happening?" She panicked. Was it something she did? Was she still in trouble for having Jun in the same window in the video link?

"They're aiming at Hoenn." Jun said, pointing to the screen. The background was the vast windshield, and past the glass was Earth the size of a bowling ball. Hoenn was still visible from here, but the laser protruding from the nose of the ship was pointing at either Lilycove or Mossdeep city.

"It's important!" Irene protested, scooting closer to the webcam. "Human-interference important!"

"_Resume as you are, earth probe. Ship out." _The video closed. Just as it did, Irene was called on the intercom to report to the platform entrance for her battle.

"Are they going to shoot Gerard?" She whispered in disbelief. She had no idea what was going on up there.

"I'll stay near him~" Jun sang. "Get ready for your battle!"

But how could she possibly focus on the battle, when alien forces were about to obliterate some poor object on Earth?

* * *

><p>Somehow, some way or another, Jun claimed Ashka's seat next to Gerard. She had argued with him for the seat, but Daniel was already pulling her to the seat between James and Lucas where Jun was before. Her thrashing had stopped because she knew what everyone was thinking. She let it go, refusing to be labeled as the 'psychotic obsessive best friend'. Gerard on the other hand was reluctant to give the seat to <em>Jun<em>. Jun was nice and all, but he never stopped talking. At all.

Aika the MC's voice blared throughout the stadium. "_Our next battle is between Irene Connor and David Knight!" _The applause became deafening as the two emerged from the rising platform like the silver prize. The scare of Irene losing the appeal round was short lived because she miraculously received fourth place. Maybe it had something to do with James hacking into the system and bringing her up a few twenty places.

The circular stage morphed to a rectangle, and the lit up lines faded and reassessed themselves to a normal-battlefield resemblance.

"Do you think she'll get past this round?" Daniel pondered with Megan.

"I believe she can get through anything." She replied.

"I hate it when you walk around the question." He muttered, although, inside, he was just glad that she was talking to him again.

The battle began with Irene sending out her Skiploom, and her opponent a Musharna. The flat screen in the background changed to a scoreboard with Irene's video feed on the left side and David's feed on the right. Their health bars were at full with a 100 at the end.

_BZZ! _The starting buzzer sounded.

Her older, college-like opponent attacked first. "Musharna, use Yawn!" The floating plush toy's eyes stayed close as its smoky-ponytail started snaking around Skiploom, like maybe it was trying to constrict it.

"Don't breathe it in!" Irene warned. "Send it back with Sleep Spore!" Skiploom held its breath, shut its eyes, then began spewing out slow-as-molasses particles from the spinning golden flower atop its head. The spores mixed in with Musharna's smoke, lifting it upwards and into the air where it settled into the crowd, creating a spiral-galaxy with tiny star-resembling spores. Both Irene and David's points went down from the spectacle. "Okay Skiploom, another—"

David interrupted with, "Use Psychic and throw it back at them!" Musharna's creepy clay-doll eyes opened, shimmering a brilliant blue. The smoke-spore combination, pulled like it was on strings, landed right back down on Skiploom. Skiploom sneezed, and much to Irene's annoyance, fell asleep.

"NO! Not coolio!" She shrieked, stomping her foot down.

"She's losing her cool." Lexi noted, observing the battle with great interest. She liked the way Yawn was smoke and how well it mixed with Sleep Spore. That could work really well in a trainer battle too.

"Like you did?" James suggested.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Just drink your burger in a pouch in silence."

Jun stood up and began doing cheerleading moves. "Go Irene go! You can do it!"

Gerard covered his face, embarrassed to be seated next to him.

"Musharna, use Nightmare!" David commanded as Irene yelled obscenities, attempting to wake her pokémon. The smoke billowing from Musharna's head began to spin around Skiploom like a tornado, and weird little spirits emerged from it and darted into Skiploom. Irene's points fell to 50. Skiploom thrashed about in mid-air, dreaming about jumping off a skyscraper, but not being able to safely float to the ground. David continued with, "Now use Psychic and drop it from the ceiling!"

When Skiploom opened its eyes, free from the binds of the nightmare, it found it _living _the nightmare and plummeting to its doom to the glass-topped stage.

"Skiploom, use Bounce!" Irene called, pointing to the stationary Musharna.

Fear withered away in Skiploom's eyes. It smirked, pulling itself down faster, dive-bombing for Musharna. Before Musharna could move, Skiploom smashed into it, driving both of them into the stage. The stage shook, absorbing the shock. Skiploom recovered quickly and hopped into the air, riding the breeze to distance itself.

Musharna rose back up from the ground, looking as healthy as it had before the attack. It was maybe bruised, but not hurt enough to give up. Irene groaned at the fact that the battle wasn't over anytime soon, and the clock was ticking. She had another minute left before the battle ended, and so far the two were tied as the winner.

"Leech Seed!" Irene said. Skiploom's head flower span, tossing brown seeds at Musharna's feet.

"Break through it with Psychic!" Before the seeds hit the ground, an invisible arrow spiked right through the seeds, bursting them into pieces. "Use Yawn again!"

"Hurry and use Bounce!" Irene said quickly. Skiploom took off into the sky just as the sleep-inducing smoke reached it. It turned around and came crashing down like a meteor, but before it could make contact with its opponent, Musharna used Psychic and pushed it into the other direction.

It was too late to change direction in this reckless diving. Skiploom face planted into the stage, making parts of it where it could've crack light up.

"Ooh…That's going to hurt in the morning." Daniel winced, knowing the feeling.

"_Time's up!_" Aika's chipper voice instantly sank Irene's hopes. "_And the person who goes to the next round…David and his Musharna!"_ Irene and David shook hands for good sportsmanship, but as she pried her Skiploom's face off the floor, she couldn't help but show a sour face.

* * *

><p>The contest lasted for another few hours, and Irene had sat with everyone else because it was lonely in the lounge. The next day, Daniel and Megan were waiting in the lobby of the pokémon center for their troopers to wake up. They all knew the drill; Megan's team was staying in Verdanturf for a few more days while Daniel's group was going to hike through the mountains to reach Fallarbor. The split was going to be emotionless and easy, or at least he hoped it would be.<p>

Serena from Megan's team was the first to be downstairs, somewhat excited to go Whismur-hunting to study footprints. Irene came next from the elevator, narrowly hiding the tablet she slipped from the airport many chapters ago. She slung her bag over one shoulder and marched up to Daniel.

"Something wrong?" He asked, noticing her face. She was scrunched up and pouting.

"I want to swap!" She demanded. This caused the conversing Megan and Serena to look up.

"…What do you mean?" He said, chuckling to hide his nervousness.

"I want to go with Megan!" She clarified.

"For what reason?" Megan wondered. She was perfectly fine with having someone else on the team.

Irene fidgeted. She couldn't tell them the real reason was to stay away from Gerard. "Because…err…because I really don't want to leave Jun and Lucas…"

Serena frowned. _What, you don't want to leave me too?_

Megan swapped looks with Daniel. "I'm sure it's no trouble." She told him. "I'll just inform the director that she's coming with us. It's all up to the kids after all."

"Fine." He grumbled, unhappy that he was losing one of his troopers. It made him look bad and unfit to take care of teenagers. "But if we're swapping, then we get to take one of _your _kids!"

"Which one?" Megan asked, lightly smiling. Serena was secretly hoping one of the boys.

"Serena." Daniel said, pointing to the tomboy. Serena's pupils shrunk. New people, all older. All who look down at her like she's a freshman.

"Deal." Megan said, and Serena was silently wishing she hadn't done that. Minutes later everyone else came from the elevator, not really enthusiastic that Irene and Serena swapped places. They could've cared less. They all went outside, ready for the split.

"We're going this way." Daniel pointed to the east, where they came from. Ashka led the way, followed by Gerard, James, Lexi, and Serena. Megan told her kids to go to the west, promising to be right behind them. Now it was just the two of them, Daniel and Megan.

He didn't understand why he was nervous. Maybe it was her lingering stare that made him anticipate what she was going to say next.

"So…I guess this is goodbye." He said, nervously looking up to the sky.

"Just for now." She said in a low tone. "We'll meet again…you know, when our paths cross."

He nodded, wanting to hug or kiss her goodbye. But she was already walking away, following her troopers. He nodded to himself and span around, heading to the edge of town where his own group was waiting. He only took one step when Megan said, "Daniel?"

He turned his head, finding her standing sideways.

"I…I love you." She smiled and waved goodbye, then swiftly turned and ran off. He felt frozen in place. Did she know how much she tugged him back and forth? All he knew was this:

That was the first time she dropped the L-bomb. Ever.

* * *

><p><strong>Daww. I just love the two Rangers to death. Anyways, sorry for the late update! If I must be honest...I'm doing this internship thing all week now where I'm busy until 5pm. Goshness. So, if you see any errors, I will correct them by then :P Maybe 6. <strong>

**Also, thanks to Wind Spirit Kazuya and KingOfStories01 for reminding me to update! You guys are awesome :3 I really do need that extra push sometimes, heh.**


	7. Beeline

**Chapter Six - Beeline  
><strong>_Edge of Verdanturf Town, somewhat near Rusturf Tunnel, about nine thirty in the morning_

"How many of you have ridden in a hovercraft before?"

All five hands risen, and Daniel instantly felt like he lost something. It wasn't a big family of eight anymore. With Megan and her group far back in Verdanturf town, they just seemed more vulnerable.

"Who _hasn't _ridden in a hovercraft?" James scoffed, dropping his arm after Ashka had. There's a sneaking suspicion that Ashka was Simon in a silent game of Simon Says.

"Well..." Daniel trailed off, listing off the people he knew have never ridden in the flying automobile. There was his sister, who liked to walk everywhere. And that hobo that hangs around the pokémon center in Mossdeep.

"Get with the times." Gerard muttered, edging away from the cluster they all made together. "Hovercrafts were created centuries ago. There's no car that _doesn't _hover."

"Okay, you win that argument, even with your double negative." Daniel said frustratingly. He shut his eyes for a second to plan out his next move. "Let's see...The agency offered one real driver's license to the most knowledgeable in technology in the group. So one of you is about to learn how to drive." He beamed at James, and James looked to everyone skeptically, wondering why they were all grinning crazily at him.

"...I know screens, not engines!" He stammered. "Don't try to put me behind a wheel!...Or whatever the wheel is called these days!"

"There are four of you," Daniel said, turning away from James with disappointment. "I'm sure one of you wants a license! Lexi?" He turned to the only blonde of the group.

She looked up from an ancient Rubix hendecagon. "...Really? Driving? I'm from the city of skyscrapers. There's no point in hovercrafts other than buses and taxis."

He stared at her, not believing that these kids were giving him excuses on something as amazing as driving. Almost a decade ago when he was qualified to get his license, the race was on to be the first to be up in the air. But apparently in the present where taxis and pokémon were available, no one even bothered to get a permit anymore.

_City brats. _He groaned inwardly.

"Serena, you're competent. Do you want a hand behind the wheel?"

She shook her head shyly, trying to hide under the shade of the tree.

"Aww come on, it's totally easy with GPS and..." He gave up when he saw the tears ready to fall. Serena turned away, apologizing quietly for being rude. Daniel turned to Ashka and Gerard. "Let me guess. You two are so cool that you don't give a damn about automobiles?"

"Pretty much." Ashka nodded, looking around at the trees.

Gerard added, "That, and hovercrafts are banned in White Forest."

"Back to James!" Daniel huffed, whipping around to the poor guy helping Lexi with her hendecagon. James froze mid-twist. Daniel thought about it for a second, imagining the terror of him driving. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I want James to learn first in fear that he'd molest all the buttons on the dashboard."

"And I don't think I want to put my life in the hands of someone who sings his sustenance pack preserver to sleep." Gerard added.

"It's a giant wallet-shaped freezer bag that you plug into the wall to keep alive! You have to treat it with care!" James argued.

"We're never going to cross the mountains if we keep this up." Ashka said loudly, cutting into their petty arguing.

"I agree." Daniel muttered. "Let's head to the rental station at the edge of town."

"...Aren't we already there?" Lexi pointed upwards to the sky, where a building was floating, serving as a recharge station and rest stop. Serena was already taking pictures with her fancy professional camera.

"...To the elevator!" Daniel led the way to the nearly invisible metal cord connecting the levitating building to the ground. Pokémon mostly avoided this part of the forest because a high-pitch waning noise only audible to them was emitted from the station. Daniel found the elevator rather slowly because it was made of clear pokémon-proof glass. They rode up the elevator, all the way up six-hundred feet where the station floated. Lexi, Serena, and James were used to the deathly heights while Gerard, Ashka, and Daniel were getting a bit queasy at staring at the ground.

"How long do you think we'll be up here?" Ashka whispered to Gerard, hardly able to muster up her throat from the altitude. He barely heard her with his ears popped, so he merrily shrugged. Inside, his cool demeanor was slowly breaking at the sight of the tree he kicked minutes ago shrinking to the size of a blade of grass.

"I HAVE A SKARMORY! GET ME OFF THIS CLEAR BOX OF DOOM!" James shrieked, being the first one to go crazy from the height. They still hadn't reached the top yet, and his fist-banging was making the whole elevator shaft rumble. Serena grabbed one of his fists and twisted his fingers downwards, making him yelp. Her eyes sent an icy chill down his back, spelling "cool it". "YEEOW! You've got a guy's grip!" He howled, wrenching his fingers back.

"Mr. Daniel, James has a point." Lexi said, keeping her eyes on her wrist to avoid looking at the ground. "Most of us have flying pokémon. What's the point of a hovercraft?"

"Here we go, time for me to be mister lecture guy." Daniel said, lining his voice with confidence to hide his doubt. To everyone's relief, the elevator finally arrived at the station and the doors slid open. There was wide, open space for parking and maintenance and such, with a building behind them that served as everyone's favorite seven-eleven. Two-story tall gates lined the edge of the floating platform, preventing anyone from accidentally walking off. The gates to leave were near the edge with someone operating the door.

Surprisingly enough, the ground was firm enough to feel like it was on zero feet. Daniel led the kids over to some tables lying around the outdoor of the stores. James eagerly awaited listening to whatever he was going to teach them while Ashka and Gerard were already bored and sitting at the back of the 'classroom' without a word being said.

Daniel slammed his hand on the table, causing everyone to flinch. And causing a robot to hover over. He pushed the intrusive "How may I help you?"-bot away and looked to the teens.

"A car is _not _a pokémon." He told them. He was so serious, as if people mistaking animals as inanimate vehicles was a common occurrence that annoyed him greatly.

"But you take care of cars like pokémon." Lexi offered.

"_No_." Daniel said, shaking his head. "A pokémon is a living, breathing creature that you feed food, not voltage fluid. A pokémon cannot fly very long without stopping, and cannot go that high without getting winded. Hovercrafts on the other hand can fly longer, higher, and faster without rest, as long as its charged. You'd be better off going from city to city with one instead of region to region; that I suggest an airplane, unless you're going from Kanto to Johto. Questions so far?"

James was excitingly raising his hand like the good student he was, but Gerard flat out gave his comment.

"A pokémon can cushion itself when crashing. Hovercrafts are floating metal death-traps."

This is where Lexi winces at the thought of smashing into the mountains, out of control.

"That's why we have safety rules, emergency parachutes, and obviously, pokémon." Daniel said, throwing away his comment. "Seriously, hovercrafts are our only safe bet across the mountains. Pokémon usually get faint in the smog, and if we just walked, it would seriously take us a _month_."

No one really like the idea of being in the mountains for that long, cut off from food and water supplies, and most likely wifi. Sure, their PokéGears would recharge from the sun, but there would be no way to call anyone without bars.

"Are we reconsidering changing drivers then?" James asked nervously, now currently aware of the risks of driving today's auto-automobiles.

"What, and have _me _drive?" Daniel said, pointing to himself. "Oh, I think I've yet to mention that me and technology don't get along. Just a few days ago I slammed a rental into a tree. So yeah, unless you guys want my license revoked, we'll just go with you, James."

Everyone looked to James who just really wanted to hide under a rock right now.

"Our lives are in your hands now." Serena whispered across to him in a small voice. Somehow, someway, that gave him strength. He just remembered—everyone's counting on him. This opportunity for street cred might never come again.

James stood up, knocking over the empty sustenance pack he finished. "Let's do this. I'm ready to drive!"

* * *

><p>"This is the Ferrari Gravitee." The attendant and his Machop pushed a sleek, high-tech car out of the garage and onto the lane. The car was white with a green stripe running through it, rumored to glow in the dark. It had a row of multicolored head and backlights and the tires hid into the car with a push of a button. Currently the top was down and revealing the two rows of long seats wide enough to sit three. In the front row was a dashboard with many finger-sensitive glass buttons and a narrow book-shaped yoke steering wheel with more buttons and sensor-dials on it.<p>

"So pretty..." James gushed, petting the hood of the Gravitee.

"The Gravitee is very easy to use with GPS, autopilot, air-conditioning, world-wide radio, pokémon detection, built in pokédex, microwave, cup holders, water dispenser, adjustable top and cushion level for the seats, and more." The attendant listed off. "The car will guide you through all the buttons to press for departure. When you are ready to take off, press the big red button in the middle of the steering wheel."

"Thanks!" Daniel called as the attendant left. He turned back to the car that everyone was fascinated with. "Alright, everyone pile in! I believe it's three a row. I'll need James somewhere in the front and someone else being his passenger-assistant. Lexi, that's you."

"Dammit..." She grumbled. As soon as James touched the 'door' of the car, every doorway slid open automatically. Daniel popped the trunk open and dropped his hiking pack in. The tongue opened opposite; he was facing the trunk, and the back side opened instead of the front, like a mouth.

James, Lexi, and Serena sat in the front, with James in the middle. He adjusted the steering wheel so that it was in the middle of the car. The buttons on the computer-dashboard were movable, and Serena arranged them alphabetically just for fun, leaving Lexi with the 'brakes' button. Ashka, Gerard, and Daniel took the back seat.

"Seatbelts!" Daniel called.

"Hold on, have to find the button..." Serena muttered. On call, a long seatbelt spewed across the right side of the car and hooked to the left side, adjusting itself to its contents' waists.

"Automatic seatbelts." Ashka stated in awe.

"Welcome to the thirty-first century." Daniel shrugged. "Alright James, before we get moving, let's get everything online. Connect us to the closest tower."

"...Tower...?" James scratched his head, feeling a nervous lump gather in his throat. Of all the technology he's pulled apart and put back together, a car is so far the only thing that's got him stumped. He worriedly looked over at Serena, who had all the buttons on her side.

"We need to contact the tower to let them know we're on the way. It's common curtsey." Daniel explained. "But that's usually for long-distance drives. If you're just going around town, you can drive without it."

"I think you turn on the GPS first." Lexi said, recalling her rides in taxis from Castelia to Nimbasa. "Serena, blow up that triangle-icon in front of you."

Serena nodded, locating the GPS. She opened it, expanding the box by opening her fingers. It took up much of the dashboard, making her impulsively rearrange the other buttons again. James took his finger and swept the GPS screen to him, running over some other icons on the way. This made Serena pout and fix them again.

"What am I inputting?" He asked, ready to touch the location on the map. It was the entire map of Hoenn, although if he pinched the screen, he'd get a look at the surrounding regions. "Is Fallarbor town that weird Tympole-shaped town?"

Daniel nodded, leaning forward and straining the seatbelt to see the dashboard. James pressed it, and it lit up and zoomed in.

"_Recalculating. Fallarbor town._" The route lit up on the screen, but it was the one that went all the way around to Rustboro.

"Edit the route." Daniel said, trying to get his finger on the screen. "Straight up through Mount Chimney."

James drew a line through the map with his finger. "_Confirm?_" Asked the computer. He pressed "yes". "_Warning; rocks ahead. Continue?_" After another yes, the map became dotted with tiny red circles.

"Those are the towers. Press the one on Fallarbor." Daniel coached.

As soon as James touched it, another communication window came up with a face on it.

"_This is Fallarbor Gates tower H-F-52. State your location._" The person on the screen said. James looked around, unsure what to say.

"Umm...outside of Verdanturf...on a floating platform..."

"It says our coordinates right there." Lexi pointed to the numbers below the video call. "H-V-48."

"_You are cleared to arrived._" The window closed in an instant.

"Good, we're set to go. Start the engine!" Daniel said. "Pokémon detector, on! Anti-Gravity thrusters on! Put the wheels back in! Open the solar panels while it's still bright out here!"

The three at the front messily ran about the buttons, trying to fill in orders and remember them. Most of the buttons on Serena's side had moved to Lexi's in all the haste. The radio app got lost too.

"We're not off the ground yet! Come on!" Daniel yelled.

"You're putting a lot of pressure on them." Ashka pointed out, just a little bit sympathetic to the first-time drivers with no experience. She's glad she wasn't up there, otherwise they'd never get off the ground.

"Wait, Serena, don't touch the speed mete—AHH!" James cried as the hovercraft suddenly lurched forward, running almost a hundred-twenty miles an hour with the wheels half-lowered. The metal of the car was screeching across the asphalt, causing everyone to wince at the nails-on-chalkboard noise and the hot flying sparks.

"The wheels, the wheels!" Lexi stammered, looking for the right button.

"Got it!" Serena said, swiping her finger over the 'tires' icon. The whole car shuttered and sunk, making the whole bottom of the car give off sparks.

"No, the gravity thingy!" James said, finding the button on the yoke steering wheel. The car finally lifted off the ground, a faint whirring sound evident under them. They were still going too fast on the runway, the wind so strong that it was pushing their skins back.

"Careful with the wheel—" Daniel started, but James pulled the wheel down, causing the nose of the car to go straight upwards in a ninety-degree angle, then to a loop-de-loop that caused everyone's stomach to shift. Lexi slammed her hand on the brake, making the car jerk to a stop, almost ripping everyone's throats out.

Daniel took a calm breath while Ashka and Gerard were still frozen as if they were just off the hill on a roller coaster. "...Alright. Let's try this again, nice and easy." They were somewhat near the gate, and Daniel was already afraid of facing the mountains. "James, lock the speed to fifty. We'll start off slow."

"Okay." James said, shooting a look at Serena to not touch the meter anymore. After adjusting everything by touch, he found the solar panels, which had flung open near the car doors and made the Gravitee resemble an airplane. James started the hovercraft again and they lifted off the ground several feet. The gate in front of them swept open, and the hovercraft eased into the air.

Lexi closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. "Are we off the platform yet?"

"...Yeah, we are..." James said uneasily, trying his best to stare straight ahead.

"What does the radar say?" Daniel asked.

"Empty." Serena said, staring at the poké-radar grid.

"Alright James, bring us up into the clouds, change to a hundred miles an hour, and let's zoom to Fallarbor!"

"...Yes sir..." James answer nervously, pulling the steering wheel down gently.

* * *

><p>They've been cruising for a while now, over the clouds and out of sight. Only a few times did the Gravitee detect hovercrafts nearby, but they were never encountered by sight. Taillows past by every now and then, but nothing new for pictures that Serena could take. She had already photographed everyone in the car with the clouds as the scenery. Lexi was back to solving her hendecagon, Ashka was playing games on her PokéGear, and Gerard was asleep. Daniel kept his eyes on the GPS to be sure they were going the right way.<p>

"_Pokémon detected; 2 miles._" The dashboard recited.

"It's probably another Taillow." Daniel said. He looked over Serena's shoulder as she flipped through the pictures on her camera. His heart sank when he saw one of Megan and him together. He had been preoccupied with the driving lessons to think of her, but now with their heads in the clouds, all he thought about was her and only her. How much of a wimp he was when they split ways.

His styler began to beep. It only did that if he was receiving a call or if an angry pokémon was nearby—he was praying that it wasn't the latter. Slowly he turned the styler off sleep mode. A projection of the surrounding area spouted up from the device and a blinking red dot was nearing the middle of the hologram.

"_Identifying; Chimecho, threat level 2. Assistance not recommended." _Said the styler.

"Chimechos aren't that dangerous. I'm sure we'll be fine." Lexi said, still concentrating on the Rubix hendecagon. Serena readied her camera and began pointing it to the clouds.

"Do any of you have flying pokémon?" Daniel asked. "That could help us more. Here, I'll let Pita out just in case." He let out his aqua monkey, who screamed at being so high up in the air. He groaned as she latched to his neck like a toddler.

"I have a Charizard and a Staravia." Ashka said. "Would those help?"

"I have a Natu, although she hasn't learned how to fly properly." Serena muttered, lowering her camera as the wind picked up.

"I STILL HAVE A SKARMORY!" James yelled for some odd reason. "Well...actually, I _want _a Skarmory...does that still count?"

Daniel ignored him. "Okay, so we'll have Charizard flying ahead, Staravia will swap out when Charizard gets tired...Oh, and Natu can sit with us and predict a pokémon before the radar does so we can avoid them." The two females agreed and let their pokémon out of the pokéballs. Charizard flew ahead, its flame faint through the clouds. Natu sat on the dashboard and concentrated on the future.

The styler went off again and the hologram projected into the clouds. "_Identifying; Chimecho, threat level 4. Assistance of higher rank recommended. 1 mile._"

"Uh oh." Daniel murmured.

"Should we fly lower?" James ask, swiping off autopilot on the dashboard.

"Umm...Maybe...Give me a read on what's below." He said. Lexi put down the hendecagon and located the GPS app.

"Mountains." She said, showing a 3-D image.

"Aww crap..." He muttered. "James, it's time for you to show us how skilled you are in steering...Change our speed to seventy, and then lower us into the mountainous region."

"Yes sir." James answered. He pulled the steering wheel up, making them dip down into the clouds smoothly. He adjusted the speed, trying to ignore how beautiful Lexi looked while trying to capture clouds in her fingers. Ashka's Charizard dove down to their altitude, its eyes squinting from the clouds. The mountains opened up as the clouds faded away. It was like looking at a postcard from a bird's eye view.

"Keep your awestruck to a down low." Daniel warned, staring straight ahead. "The terrain is going to be hard to maneuver around."

The hovercraft tipped to the left, dodging a pillar of rock jutting from the ground.

"CHIIIIIIIME!" A loud pokémon cry vibrated through the area, and everyone could feel it in their feet. The solar panels on the sides of the car were rattling, and James withdrew them in fear that they might smash into another pillar. The nearby Chimecho, tailing them in the clouds, roared out another attack that knocked Natu off its feet.

"That was Synchronoise." James informed, making them go lower. Mountains were surrounding them now.

"How do we get that Chimecho off our backs?" Ashka said. Her Charizard was confused on where to go now and decided to fly next to them.

"HIGH SPEED CHIMECHO CHASE!" James shouted randomly.

"Are you craz—" Daniel's voice was lost as the car sped at a neck-breaking angle upwards. Chimecho followed, tail blowing feverishly like it was swimming. It began to shimmer gold.

"It's going to use Double Edge!" Lexi cried out, holding tightly to the car's walls.

"Put up the ceiling!" Daniel said. "Ashka, make your Charizard fight Chimecho!" The ceiling closed over their heads, sealing over the windshield. Ashka pressed a button to roll down her window. Chimecho and Charizard were flying around each other, around the car. The hovercraft plunged downward again, escaping Chimecho's next Synchronoise. That move seemed to disrupt the hovercraft's computer functions for a while.

"Watch out for the mountain side!" Serena screamed as her side scraped against the mountain. James apologized and readjusted them in the air, flying through a stone archway.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ashka called out the window. Chimecho was near the trunk when Charizard spewed flames, and the dashboard began beeping in alarm.

"_Trunk overheating. Adjusting._" The dashboard echoed robotically.

"I have a feeling we're not going to get to Fallarbor in one piece." Serena muttered as the flames on the trunk were shrinking.

"We will!" James reassured, letting go of the wheel with one hand. It started to pull to the left, yanking the whole hovercraft to the left.

"Eyes on the road! The road!" Lexi yelled as her side of the car grated against the mountain. Gerard was still asleep, miraculously.

"We need to speed up!" Daniel said. "Bring us to the clouds!"

"But my Charizard won't be able to keep up!" Ashka protested, carefully sticking her head out the window. Charizard and Chimecho were butting heads.

"Return it!" He replied with a _duh _tone.

"Pokémon are not '_its'_!" James shouted frustratingly, making the car speed upwards again.

"BRANCH!" Lexi yelled. They hovercraft crashed through a tree, taking almost another second to get through before they started towards the clouds. The red light of Ashka's pokéball finally caught Charizard through all the swerving, returning it. James cranked the speed to two hundred, and all the windows were rolled upwards. He made a narrow turn in the air as they reached the clouds, barely missing a Swellow.

"Too...fast!" Daniel said, feeling himself being pulled forward.

"_Repressurizing._" Said the female robotic voice of the dashboard. Cold air swept through the vents, making everyone's popped ears return to normal. James adjusted the speed back to normal when the red blinking dot on the poké-radar disappeared.

"Do I still get that license after all that?" James asked, turning in his seat.

"Eyes back on the road." Daniel snapped. "We're almost out of the mountains."

* * *

><p>It was nearing lunch time when Serena noticed the black speck that landed on the lens of her camera. She brushed it off, figuring it was just a careless smudge of hers. But after it happen three or four more times in her hair, she decided to check the GPS to see if they were close.<p>

"Anyone else notice that it's sooting?" James said, using the windshield wipers to wipe off the soot. This just made it worse, smearing dirt all over the place. He groaned and tried to wash it off with the wiper fluid.

Gerard woke with a film of soot over his face. He brushed it off and woke up Ashka, who also looked like she fell face first in sticky sand.

"We're close to the town then!" Daniel said, very close to cheering. But he's a man! Men don't cheer! They just...sound excited. "Start flying lower."

The hovercraft lowered. The GPS was telling them that they were close to the landing point, which must've been correct because they were starting to receive transmissions from other nearby hovercrafts.

"I see the Contest Hall!" Lexi said, pointing at the neon-decorated building ahead.

"The pokémon center is close by." Serena took another picture.

"Where are all the robots?" James wondered, looking down to the ground. Usually you could spot robots because their head and tail lights blinked.

"Fallarbor town can't have robots because the soot disrupts communication." Daniel said. "Alright, time for you to park! Take it easy. Slow to forty, and Serena, get the tires out!"

The tires sprung out from the bottom of the car, and James pressed the 'landing' button on the steering wheel. The car started to lower until it touched the ground. They ended up in a grassy area behind the pokémon center.

"We're here!" Lexi cheered. "What do we get to do first?"

The doors slid open automatically, and everyone except Daniel exited the car. He hopped up to the front seat and took the wheel.

"All of you go and feed your pokémon in the center. I'm going to go drop the car off at the rental garage." He said, turning the motor back on.

"Alright." They echoed, heading towards the Center. James trailed behind, his legs being the last to get used to the land.

"And include James with you this time!" Daniel shouted after them.

"Fine..." Ashka muttered. James grinned and caught up with them. Pita was still out of her pokéball and hopped into the free seat beside Daniel, yipping energetically. He drove around town, having to use the GPS to locate the garage. After a short exchange of signatures, the car was back in the care of the rental place and he was back in the middle of town, staring at the soot raining down.

"They say that ash is the sign of a volcano about to blow."

_Not HIM. _Daniel slowly turned to the voice, dreading even remembering the person. Standing there merrily a yard away was his rival in everything, even winning Megan's heart, was Rank C Ranger Rodolfo of Slateport city. Rodolfo was one of the many rangers he met in college, and they competed over everything. Over capture rates, over pokémon, and over Megan. What's worse—he had a Panpour too—or at least, used to. Now it was a Simipour that stood next to him.

"Too afraid to speak as you bask in my light? Understandable." Rodolfo said. He was an inch, maybe two, taller than him. Rodolfo had curly, dull orange hair that was cut short. He wore the same uniform as Daniel, but with the extra muscle he obviously wore it better.

"...What are _you _doing here?" Daniel finally managed to blurt out, albeit rudely.

"Why am I _not _here, is what you should be asking." Rodolfo scoffed. "I mean _puh-lease. _Everyone's routes are so intermingled that I'm not surprised we crossed."

"...You're in the Summer Trek program _too_?" Daniel said, holding back his gasp. Now was not the time to be dramatic.

"Sure am. May I say this now? Yes, I will. Here we go. My kids will _kick _your team's ass fifty to the one hundredth power times!" Rodolfo said. Daniel wasn't sure whether he should be insulted or not. It's not often that people insult you with math. "Okay, so it's not the kids that you care about. Fine, I understand that. My brats are a handful too. How about this...MEGAN IS MINE!"

"No she's not!" Daniel automatically shouted, which was unlike him. He's usually not possessive of her when she's in her 'moods'. But Rodolfo was a sleazy Seviper; the last thing he wanted was to lose a Megan-battle with _him_.

"Yeah she is!" Rodolfo shot back. "I just checked her Facebook status, and she's _single_! Ha! I'm totally riding your screw-ups right now."

"I didn't screw up!" Daniel retorted. "We're just spending time apart! That doesn't mean she isn't mine!"

"...Okay, you try to make logic with those contradictions while I go hook up with Megan." Rodolfo's sick grin left a mental scar to Daniel's mind as he walked away. Daniel shook his head. No way would Megan stoop down to someone as self-absorbed as Rodolfo. Rodolfo span around. "One more thing—don't bother checking the volcano like your itinerary says—_my _fabulous group already did!"

Daniel shook his head again as the soot covered his black hair in choppy layers. He mustn't let Rodolfo get to him. He mustn't.

* * *

><p>The group of five were sitting around a big table with all their pokémon. They were just cleaning up when a message popped up on the table-to-table IM'er on Gerard's side.<p>

"Who's it from...?" Ashka stared at him strangely as she piled all the dirty plates onto the dish-retriever-bot.

"Table C." He answered, his eyes flickering to the table at the south-east area of the cafeteria.

_Hi! This is the cute red head at table C.  
>You're cute! And so am I! Are you in the Summer Trek program?<br>Of course you are! I remember you from the airport! Hi, I'm Sherry!_

All that in one message.

"Cool...I want to talk to someone!" James said, sweeping aside his plate to touch the keypad imbedded into the table.

"Don't reply. She's a weirdo." Ashka warned.

Gerard looked over to the table where the red head was. She grinned deviously and waved at him.

_What do you want? _He typed back.

"Don't respond to her actions!" Ashka said, slapping his hand off the keyboard.

Gerard's eyebrows flew up. "Cool it. I just want to see what she wants." Ashka crossed her arms and leaned back. Times like these she wished she wasn't across from him so she could read the messages.

_Ya know, there are only four of us in our group. You should totally come over to our side! _Sherry sent.

_Why the hell would I do that? I hardly know you. _Gerard sent back. He wondered if Ashka would be proud that he's rude to another girl. Inside he was kind of sad that he was being mean to a stranger that seemed pretty friendly.

_It's because you have a girlfriend, isn't it? That tall girl with the cargos? _

Gerard closed the chat. No way was he going to bring Ashka into this random conversation.

"Hey, I'm going outside to check out the town. You guys want to come?" Lexi asked, returning all but her Scrafty. James shook his head, amused by the random conversation he was having with an old man at the table behind them. Serena quietly tagged along, camera ready for more pictures.

Sherry, the red head that Gerard was talking to, came over to the head of the table where he and Ashka were at. The two stared up at her, wondering why in the world would a stranger come up to talk to them.

"You," Sherry said, pointing to Gerard. "You never answered my question. You're in the Summer Trek program, _right?_"

"He is, with _me_." Ashka answered for him, her aqua blue eyes becoming icy. "We're with Daniel Bay."

"Eww, that amateur ranger with the ugly nose? Rodolfo told me about him. He's incompetent and smells weird." Sherry said, her nose scrunching.

"I never noticed the smell. I keep smelling my own pokémon's fur through their pokéballs." James said, looking up from the table. He suddenly couldn't stop staring at Sherry's bare legs. Why in the world do girls like wearing mini-miniskirts? Not like he was complaining or anything.

"So what was it that you wanted?" Gerard said, irritated that she was still here. He had already closed the chat; wasn't that enough of a hint to get her to go away?

"A battle!" Sherry sang, clasping her hands together lovingly. "If I win, you should take me up to Chimney Summit to see tonight's meteor shower!"

"Hold it sister." Ashka said, getting up. Sherry backed up, intimidated by her tall size. "Who says he's going _anywhere _with you? You want a battle, battle me."

"F-fine." Sherry stammered. Ashka smirked, already sensing her fear through her words.

"Wait, wait, wait. I never agreed to this!" Gerard said. "You can't wager my free time like this!"

The girls ignored him and headed outside to the battlefields. James excitedly returned his pokémon and followed.

"You're so lucky Gerard! I wish I had girls battling over me!" He called, running through the doors to outside.

Gerard trudged behind, wiping his face with his hand. "I'd trade places with you, just for today..."

* * *

><p>Lexi and Serena ran into Daniel and Pita somewhere along their walking. Daniel was staring up at the volcano about a half hour away from town.<p>

"Do you girls want to see a volcano?" He asked, suspicious of the smoke billowing from the top.

Serena's eyes sparkled. "Can we?" She pleaded, hands hugging her camera.

"Shouldn't we get the others?" Lexi asked as they started heading to the road to the volcano. It also seemed logical to use the hovercraft to get up there, but Daniel seemed too stubborn for some reason to do that.

"I don't think we'll have time for that." He muttered, his pace too fast for them, making them have to run to catch up. Lexi and Serena shared an uncertain glance.

Was there something up with the volcano that they should be concerned about?

* * *

><p><strong>I wrote most of this today. I think that just makes me lazy the rest of the week -.-..Anyway, I think this is my favorite future-tech chapter :D I don't know much about cars. So, I just picked a car brand, and TADA! It sounds futuristic. I think. <strong>

**Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. Check my profile! Megan and Daniels pictures are up!**


	8. Dynamite

**Chapter Seven - Dynamite  
><strong>_Fallarbor Town, behind the Pokemon center at the battlefields_

A small crowd gathered around the chain link fence encompassing the newly lit up battlefield behind the pokémon center. James set the robotic-judge and a scoreboard hovered above everyone's heads, threatening to fall if not careful. Ashka's picture was on the left side, Sherry's on the other. The battle was set, 3 vs. 3, and the random kids that came to watch came in various sizes with different pokémon accompanying. Gerard leaned on Ashka's side of the fence, quietly shaking his head at what keeping him single came to. Shouldn't hanging out with someone like Sherry be his decision?

"Any last words before I win?" Sherry chirped, wearing a headset that was mandatory for the battlefield. Her cheery, dastardly voice bounced around the battlefield and Ashka winced at the volume.

"You're such a prep." Ashka scoffed, her low tone voice less ear-wincing as Sherry's.

"Fighting words!" Sherry growled, teeth clenched. "Nerdy boy next to the robot! Start this thing!"

"...I have a name..." James muttered, activating the robot. It was in the same shape as other robots, a cube, and was stuck to the ground via pole. Every time it used its voice, a zig-zag line crossed its face.

"_BATTLE STARTING! Trainer voice confirm."_

"Ashka." said Ashka.

"Sherry here!" Sang Ashka.

"_Voices confirmed. ASHKA of White Forest and SHERRY of Nimbasa City. Battle will continue until third pokémon of either side is unable to battle. BEGIN."_

The flat disk on Sherry's sock-like gloves glowed, causing a tiny pokéball to emerge from it. She grabbed the pokéball, expanded it, and gave it a mighty toss that almost knocked into the wandering scoreboard. She shouted, "Solrock, let's go!" A sun-resembling pokémon materialized, reflecting off the sun like it was a star itself.

Ashka gave little thought into her pokémon choice. "Dragonair, battle stage!" A blue, snake-like pokémon appeared, having decorative orbs on its tail and wings for ear-accessories. Ashka had a ghost of a grin as she stared at her goofy dragon pokémon. She wanted to use something more to her advantage, but even the best trainers mix up pokéballs.

"Solrock, use Rock Polish!" Sherry commanded first. Solrock began to spin like a washing machine, its yellow ends shining.

Gerard caught Ashka smirking. He was familiar with her battle style; move fast, attack fast, be intimidating. She had intimidation down, the question was if she was willing to run circles around Sherry this early into the battle.

"Thunder!" Ashka commanded strongly. No hesitation, no doubt. Dragonair began to writhe and twist like it was having a seizure, summoning dark clouds above the battlefield. The clouds cackled menacingly.

"Dodge!" Sherry called. Solrock zipped forward as lightning smashed down—

"Dragon Rage!" Dragonair pulled back its head and roared out green-ish shockwaves, knocking Solrock backwards, right into the path of Thunder. Solrock gave out a creepy, deep-pained cry and Sherry winced through the light. The crowd went "oooh..."

Solrock recovered, shaking slightly in the air. Relief flooded over Sherry's face before she commanded the next move. "Solrock use Cosmic Power!" Solrock span on its back, causing the whole atmosphere around them to darken. Comets shot out of the sky, flying around Dragonair like a beautiful light show. Both Ashka and Dragonair were fascinated with the comets, distracted. While Dragonair was slithering around a swirling comet, Solrock turned counterclockwise, and the ground behind Dragonair began to lift in chunks.

Ashka realized what Sherry's strategy was too late. She screamed, "Drago—" and then the rocks slammed into Dragonair's back, the force so strong that it flipped it onto its back. The thin serpent was winded.

Gerard let out a mushroom-cloud sigh. "Looks like I'm taking that girl to the summit..." _But Ashka isn't finished yet. She's still got some more tricks up her sleeve._

The judge-bot's webcam-eyes surveyed over the pokémon. It deemed Dragonair's HP to be 40, while Solrock was around 65. Statistically, things weren't going in Ashka's favor. She waited patiently as Dragonair pulled itself off the ground, anticipating Sherry's next move.

"Do Rock Polish-Psywave!" Sherry said. Solrock cranked itself in mid-air again, which seemed to be the starting position to all its moves.

_Sherry's Solrock is all just show. _Ashka realized, blue eyes expressing nothing to hide her discovery. _That's her strategy. She makes a display and hits you when you're distracted. We're not letting that happen again._

Solrock became pretty, polished, and shiny but it never stopped twirling. It twirled so much that it looked like it was out of control, and the children watching were shrieking in freight. All at once, each of its decorative handlebars were exploding purple psywaves like an amplifier's speakers.

Before Psywave reached them, Ashka shouted, "Steam through with Outrage!" Dragonair quit bouncing around and drilled forward, straight to Solrock and its light show.

"Dodge it!" Sherry said, smart enough to see Dragonair coming. Solrock moved out of the way, its stats already boosted from previous Rock Polishes. "Psywave again!" Cymbals seemed to clash in Dragonair's eardrums and suddenly losing all thought of direction, it crashed into the hard ground skull-first.

The Judge-bot shot a tiny red laser at Dragonair. A net-like projection fell over it, and parts of it were scanned. The Judge-bot went _BZZZZZZZ! _like a buzzer. "_Dragonair is unable to battle." _The scoreboard hovering overhead grayed the still picture of Dragonair on Ashka's side.

Ashka recalled Dragonair, thanking it for fighting well. Gerard was feeling uneasy. Since when was she the first to lose a pokémon? Back in class, she'd always deliver the punches hard and fast. Was it possible that an "all-show"-type like Sherry could beat her? She'd never faced a person so flashy in their battling before.

"You're actually pretty good." Ashka admitted, her voice echoing from the mic hooked to her ear. "Are you a coordinator?"

"I'm going for a scholarship." Sherry giggled. "I'm having fun! Come on! Show me your next card!"

"You've got it." Ashka smirked, expanding her next choice. "Charizard, battle stage!"

* * *

><p>Daniel, Lexi, and Serena took almost a half hour to reach the path to the mouth of the volcano. Each had their own pokémon next to them, keeping them company and helping keep them steady over the unstable slippery terrain. Over the centuries society realized that guardrails would be an efficient addition to the path, but there were numerous gaps due to wear-and-tear. Pita, Lexi's Scrafty, and Serena's Jigglypuff trailed behind with much more glee.<p>

As they climbed higher and higher, Lexi noticed the wires hanging in the air, leading into town. "...There was a _cable car_?"

"Aww man. We could've ridden that." Daniel said, shrugging carelessly. He liked hiking more anyways since it felt more satisfying. They continued on, although Lexi was beginning to have great difficulty climbing because her boots couldn't grip onto anything. She looked over the side of the volcano, her breath catching in her throat. That fall didn't seem nearly as inviting as the one that was two-feet tall.

"So what then?" Lexi said as she inched along the narrow trail, using the guardrail like a lifesaver. "What do we do if the volcano is active?"

"We run." Serena muttered monotonously.

"If we run, we slip off the mountain." Daniel pointed out. "We're going to prove that big head Rodolfo wrong. He doesn't know a thing about environmental problems! He knows nothing!"

"Who's Rodolfo?" Lexi said, lifting an eyebrow.

"Just a rival team leader." He said, shrugging his shoulder. "He thinks he's such a hot shot because he's the reason why Slateport is such a hotspot. He throws one _big _celebrity party at seventeen and then everyone wants your autograph." His face twisted into a scoff.

"Were you invited to that party?"

"We didn't know each other yet, so that's a no." He said. They came upon a rock staircase that led to the summit. He let them ascend first as he spoke. "I knew Megan though. The future rangers of Mossdeep had to assemble to see who was accepted into which college. I had the upper hand on Rodolfo because I was out studying instead of partying."

"Studying Megan or rangering?" Lexi teased. Serena took a photo of his blush.

"Long story short! We're rivals. Bad blood. Despise him." Daniel grumbled as he reached the top of the staircase. Pita was crying loudly, swinging around the guardrail that secured the mouth of the volcano. These rails looked ready to fall because of the numerous times they faired with lava.

"Rivals are meant to keep you striving for the top." Serena said a shy voice, shoving her hand in one of her pockets. "Hate brings war."

"Maybe that's what we need." He said, pulling Pita off the guardrail. "Then he'll stop trying to compete with me for _everything_."

Lexi and Serena kept a distance, hesitant to look into the mouth of the volcano. Who knows what they might find—lava? Pokémon? An unstable ledge? They inched to the edge, stopping a few steps to the guardrail. Even from here they could feel the heat. It was like being roasted like marshmallows. Any further down and their clothes could catch on fire.

Daniel peered into the mouth. Almost ten feet down, thick, bright red liquid simmered and bubbled. The lava swished back and forth like waves, making the rock darker and darker every time it swept past. The lava hissed and cackled, sounding like real flames even in liquid form.

The ground under them shook violently, causing the females to scream and hit the deck. Serena grabbed her Jigglypuff, fearing that it would slip into the lava.

"Move further down!" Daniel yelled over the quaking. Like caterpillars they slinked around the rocky area to some boulders around the edge.

"It's going to blow! Get us out of here!" Lexi cried, squeezing her Scrafty in a hug. The ground vibrated like a huge cement truck was coming. Suddenly, it stopped.

Daniel went to the beeping Styler on his belt. The disaster radar was going off, predicting a nine on a scale from one to ten. The message coming up was _evacuate_.

It was beginning to soot again. Smoke was billowing from the top of the volcano, obscuring the area. Daniel pulled the girls up from the floor and began pushing them towards the cable car path entrance. "Let's go." He ordered, directing this to Pita as well who was trying to catch soot-flakes on her tongue. "The forecast calls for lava."

"Yes! We get to use the cable car!" Lexi cheered.

Serena looked back at the volcano. Everyone's time was slowly ticking down to zero, and this time she couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

><p>It started sooting again.<p>

"Not this again." Gerard grumbled, setting his goggles on his face. Others around watching the battle brought out special umbrellas that hovered next to their owners. The Judge-bot was beginning to lose its readings because of all the disruptions in the air. The scoreboard fell on James's head.

Ashka's Charizard had defeated Sherry's Timburr earlier, and was now facing a really annoying Shedinja. Due to the soot, Ashka recalled it so its flame wouldn't go out.

"Giving up because the Judge-bot is malfunctioning?" Sherry teased, swinging back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"I've got one pokémon left." Ashka replied, tossing up her last pokéball. "Prinplup, battle stage!" Her medium-sized blue penguin materialized from within the capsule. It squawked and looked around at the soot, fascinated by the new precipitation.

"Nobody cares that I was just hit by a scoreboard...? El mundo is fickle..." James muttered, still on the ground and shoving the hunk of plastic aside. There was a lump on his head the size of a pokéball!

"Use Bug Buzz!" Sherry commanded to the angelic-like Shedinja. It brought in its femora as its golden wings rubbed together rapidly, creating yellow sphere-ish waves that collided with the surrounding raining soot.

_It's another one of her fancy displays, _Ashka thought, shaking off the urge to squeal at the beauty of the attack. "Snap out of it Prinplup and use Blizzard!" She said. Her voice was beginning to get cut up. It looked like the amps were getting screwed by nature too.

Prinplup waddled out of the ways of the waves, lifted its arms, and propelled surges of snowy wind at Shedinja. It merrily phased through the insect.

_She forgot about Wonder Guard. _Gerard thought, smacking Ashka mentally.

"YOU FORGOT ABOUT WONDER GUARD!" James shouted obliviously.

Ashka wanted to tell him to shut up and let her figure things out herself, but she wasn't going to give Sherry the satisfaction of seeing her frustrated. But things were getting complicated. With Wonder Guard up, Prinplup wouldn't be able to land a move!

"I'm gonna win!" Sherry sang. "Shedinja, Shadow Ball!" Shedinja launched a dark purple orb at Prinplup.

Prinplup jumped out of the way, using its wings to carry it upwards a bit. It looked at its trainer, unsure what to do next.

_I've got it! _Ashka smirked. _Now all we need to do is wait._

"Another Shadow Ball! Don't let that bird dodge!" Sherry shouted. Shedinja shot another orb at Prinplup—

"Send it back with Hydro Pump!" Ashka retaliated quickly. Prinplup knew time was of the essence and gathered everything in its abdomen—_SHOWM! _Torrents of water gushed out of Prinplup's beak, ricocheting the incoming Shadow Ball right into Shedinja's face.

Shedinja fell, unable to get up.

"No!" Sherry whined, bringing her arms down. "So close! Ugh!"

Gerard sighed in relief. "Train wreck avoided." He whispered.

Ashka tackled him into a hug, sending a look over his shoulder to Sherry that he was _her _territory. Sherry gave her a relinquished smile, accepting the inevitable. Gerard on the other hand blushed uneasily while hugging Ashka back.

"Aww...where's Serena with the camera when we need her?" James cooed from a few feet away. Ashka shot him a look that probably meant, 'back off, or I send in the troops!'.

She and Gerard broke away as Sherry came upon them with all her pokémon returned. She looked delightfully happy despite being beaten in a battle. "That was really fun!" She said. "You've inspired some new combinations I can try out later!"

"You're actually a pretty good battler." Ashka admitted bashfully. "I didn't expect that many surprises."

"Thanks!" Sherry jumped from the compliment. She looked around, noticing the kids that were watching had left, leaving it just her, the two, and James on the battlefield with the malfunctioning battlebots. What she said next made all three turn their heads before they could leave. "You should all come with us to the summit for the meteor shower tonight!"

"Wha...who?" Gerard's goggles dropped to his neck as his eyes showed his utter confusion.

Sherry explained. "Our groups! I'll ask Mr. Rodolfo, you ask Mr. Daniel! It'll be fun! We could have a campfire too!"

"I don't see why not!" James grinned, jumping along giddily. Ashka and Gerard were having doubts. Sherry came off as creepy in the beginning, so who knows what she'd pull at the summit?

"Let's just go..." Ashka murmured.

"You sure? You just battled this girl for my plans tonight." Gerard teased. Ashka smiled and brushed his arm off her shoulder. She nodded to Sherry.

"It's official! Hooray!" Sherry cheered, skipping and bursting with a bit _too _much joy.

* * *

><p>"Stay right here." Daniel said to Lexi and Serena from the outside of the Fallarbor ranger station. Unfortunately when he walked through the automatic doors, they followed. He groaned and went through the security scanners with a scowl. The girls were still getting scanned as he approached the front desk, and he popped his ID out of the back pocket of his styler and displayed it to the employee.<p>

"Good afternoon Mr. Bay." He said, scanning the ID.

"I'd like to report an incident." Daniel said, accepting his ID back. "The volcano nearby is ready to blow."

"Really?" The employees eyes widened. "Are you sure? You are just rank D after all. Maybe we should send someone else out there to check."

"I checked! Everything is fine!" A voice came from one of the hallways. Rodolfo emerged with a smug smile aimed at Daniel. Daniel winced, because just the presence of his rival made the space around here too small.

"Thank you rank C ranger." The employee said. He turned back to Daniel. "See? Everything is fine."

"Rodolfo's an idiot! How does he have more credibility than me!" He shouted, bringing his arms up angrily.

"Hey! I'm very competent!" Rodolfo retorted. "I captured a Skitty the other day because it was eating an old lady's flowers!"

Serena ran over with her camera screen showing some pictures. "Wait, Mr. Daniel's right." She said, pointing to the picture. "I took a picture of the volcano. See the lava? And the smoke? And then there was an earthquake."

"See!" Daniel said, smiling thankfully at her photographic evidence.

The employee looked at the picture skeptically. "Yes...lava. That's what a volcano has. That doesn't prove a thing."

Serena's eyes darkened. Her photos were never dissed like that before.

"But it almost erupted when we were up there!" Lexi protested. "You've got to believe us!"

Rodolfo patted her head condescendingly. "Sorry little girl, but in the adult world, we don't fancy little white lies." Lexi's face fumed red.

Daniel was glaring at him with much hatred. Credibility, rank, Megan—he just couldn't win anything with this jerk around. Now a whole town might be destroyed because everyone relied on the smugger ranger. "Fine, you're right. Do nothing. That's the safest thing to do." He said, letting go all of his anger.

A red-haired girl ran through the security point, hyperactively calling Rodolfo's name. "Mr. Rodolfo! Can we please! Can Mr. Daniel's group come with us to the summit tonight?"

"Random...where'd she come from...?" Lexi muttered, recalling her from the pokémon center. Sherry, was it?

"Must we?" Rodolfo sucked in his groan. "I don't want to share anything with rival groups."

"It'll be fun! Beautiful please?" Sherry begged, clasping her hands together.

"Is that one step up from pretty please?" Daniel wondered, nearing the door. He was hoping Rodolfo would say no. The last thing he wanted to do was spend more time with him around.

Rodolfo looked weary and drained by her peppiness. "I don't see why not..."

"YAY!" Sherry cheered and ran past Daniel, out into town. "See you later!" She waved goodbye to Lexi and Serena, who were a bit cautious to be near the volcano before it spews. Somehow the smarter idea was to be in vicinity of impending doom.

* * *

><p>James stumbled down the basement steps of the pokémon center, looking back at the door every few seconds to see if the nurses caught him sneaking down here. The coast was clear, and he reached the bottom of the staircase with relief. He had been pretty quiet about getting in here; the thumb-print sensors weren't working well because of the soot around town and he was able to get through the unlocked door pretty easily.<p>

_I wonder if I can impress Lexi with this. _He wondered, smiling skittishly. He navigated through the dimly lit hallways and found a door with a sign that said 'officials only'. He grinned and reached for the knob, but then he realized it was locked—but not with any ordinary lock—a _key _lock.

"Aww man, this door is ancient..." He muttered, looking through his back pack for something that could get him inside. He found a thin, flat end to his PokéGear recharger and stuck it into the key hole. With a _click _the lock turned, and he found himself in a dark room with a mega computer hooked to the wall in the middle of the room.

He closed the door after himself and waved away at the dust. The computer was still on sleep mode, but once sensing his touch on the keyboard, it turned to the 'PASSWORD' window. This computer was mostly reserved for government officials because it tapped directly in the worlds governmental database, so a universal password was needed. Luckily, knowing the password from his mother, who always used this server for her medical practice, he was able to get in quite quickly.

In the search engine, he typed _family tree_.

The next screen flashed. DNA required.

He recalled the scene from just a few moments ago.

"_Can I have a strand of your hair?" James asked Lexi as she entered the doors of the 'Center. She looked at him strangely, one finger twisting around a blonde lock._

"_...Okay, but if I get a clone out of this, I claim full rights to push you down Mt. Chimney."_

James reached into his pocket, pulled out a plastic bag, and pulled a thread of blonde hair out of it. It was scanned in the DNA port, and her information came up on the screen. Then, a tree branched out from her name and latest ID picture. She shared a branch with her brothers and sisters, all connected to her mother and father.

He scrolled upwards. Her mother's mother's mother's mother was here too. The tree traced up all the way to the nineteen hundreds. That was almost two millenniums ago.

He pulled an item out of his book bag. He had been working with this for a while, and tried his best to keep it from anyone else because it was proven to be a hoax centuries ago. But his invention tackled a different view of time travel.

Instead, it pulled objects from the past into the present.

He'd never brought a real person back from the past before. He mostly used the remote to bring back ice cream that tasted much less like cardboard like it does in this time. He was a bit nervous, weighing the dangerous circumstances of bringing live cargo across the timeline.

He scrolled up the family tree. This guy who was born in 1994 seemed like the best candidate to bring back. He went to his remote, typed in the name, year, and location, and pressed _initialize. _

The remote lit up with life, its ends glowing, but when James looked around, nothing appeared.

He sighed and turned the remote off as it went back to idle mode. The remote must only work on inanimate objects.

He wondered what it would've been like if Zane Andore had really been sucked into the future by 999 years.

* * *

><p>Near the outskirts of Black city, somewhere near White Forest, a young man with flat black hair and baby blue eyes was lounging on a lawn chair near an expansive pool. Behind him, a large estate was planted with beautiful ancient golden arches and barriers. His pokémon, all very small and adorable, were playing somewhere along the backyard area. The sun overhead was clear, blue, and cloudless. Not a trace of smog anywhere.<p>

"Mr. Andore! Please, we must evacuate immediately! You must pack!" A woman dressed in a starched polo shirt and slacks said from the doorframe of the porch, waving a dust rag at him. "The end of the world is near! You're parents are waiting for you at the space station!"

Zane flipped her off, pushing his sunglasses up his nose while doing so. "Go to hell." He said loudly. "I don't want to hear anymore of this end of the world crap. It's 2012 and I want a lemonade. Go get me one!"

The maid huffed, turned, and walked back into the estate to fetch him a lemonade. A smile graced his face as he resumed tanning under the greenhouse sun. His Delcatty and Petilil giggled at his rudeness to the help. Only he, the heir to the Andore fortune, could afford to be rude to whomever he wanted.

When he looked up to the sky at night, he could see a gray object behind the moon. That was the space station, a state in space that was beginning to flourish from all the new technology being developed. But Zane didn't want to be up there in space. Sure, without gravity it was easier to relax on a nice chair, but the fact that the space station was new and had faults wasn't a good enough reason for him to move up there with his wealthy parents.

The maid returned and dropped off his lemonade on a silver platter. He took the lemonade without a thank you, sipped, and closed his eyes. He wonders when his life is going to be taking off again.

Then, a few feet in front of him, the air began to swirl and distort. A portal fabricated, manifesting an alternate universe of some sort. Clips of the world flew by, ones of beautiful people in other worldly clothing working side-by-side with sleek robotic machines and slightly different looking pokémon. Hairstyles were of another century, yet they looked perfectly contemporary. Then there were more scenes, of flying cars and loop-de-loop highways and rivers flooding the main routes. Then it all paused at a dark room.

Zane was standing at this point, fascinated by the world in front of him. It was so new, so futuristic, so ideal to what he wanted. He didn't want to wait for mankind to catch up to this universe. He wanted to _be _in this universe.

He had cash in his pocket, and his pokémon were back in their pokéballs along his gold wrist watch. Was he ready? This was a new fantastic world for him to live in, one where the burden of the world ending didn't exist. He smiled, throwing away all the cares that he didn't have in the first place.

One Prada boot was already placed in the new world. No going back.

He was pulled into the future.

The portal swiftly closed as if it were never there.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm really liking this so far :3 We've got too much storylines at once, huh? Hehehe. Evil of me.<strong>

**Anyway, thanks for reading! If you want, send my a nice review :3 or, a critisismic (see, i'm making up words now) review. I don't mind for either! Even flames. I was flamed once on Fictionpress for naivety/noobism. Oh well! Can't be helped.**

**THANK YOU Thank you to reviewers **_Wind Spirit Kazuya_**, **_2lazy2makeaname_**, **_KingofStories01_**, **_AshKetchumDarkside_**, and **_WolfehUmbreonWarrior_** for sticking along to this point! You guys are the highlight of my day :3**

**Thank you also to people on story alert (you know who you are :D) for adding! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story so far. **


	9. Hypocrite

**Chapter Eight - Hypocrite  
><strong>_Facebook Website; Summer Trek 3011 Group_

_L__exi Redstone_ was added to group Summer Trek 3011.

**Lexi Redstone **_...Wth? We had a Facebook group? How come no one added me till now?_

**Lucas Taylor **Who added you

**Lexi Redstone **Jun

**Jun Kirman **Guilty! :D

**Lucas Taylor **...I'm going to kill you...

**Jun Kirman **I sowwy...

**Lexi Redstone **Hold up hold up! **Serena Valliya **too? Even **James Lopreo**? Am I the only one who wasn't added?

**Lucas Taylor **That and Ashka and Gerard. But they're village kids, they don't even know what Facebook is

**Jun Kirman **Can I add them?

**Lucas Taylor **No! I regulate the group members! I don't want those stiffs in here!

**Lexi Redstone **They're not that bad...

**James Lopreo **Cool, I was tagged in a comment :3

**Lucas Taylor **See what you did? You brought the nerd in here too.

**Lexi Redstone **You're being pretty mean today...

**Jun Kirman **He's just mad because I caught a Whismur today and he didn't :D  
>Serena Valliya likes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Screw it Serena

**Lexi Redstone **Hey! Don't be so mean! I'll get one of the moderators to block you if you don't quit it! Go on Twitter or something!

**Serena Valliya **Wouldn't matter, Ms. Megan and Mr. Daniel don't bother using Facebook.

**Daniel Bay **Actually I do. Lucas, get back to your activity with Megan, God. Oh, I'll need one of you from my team to help me make s'mores for tonight's campfire in the pokémon center kitchen. And someone add Ashka and Gerard already

**Lexi Redstone **I volunteer. I'll be there in a minute

**James Lopreo **I'll come too!

**Lucas Taylor **This just got a hell lot awkward with Mr. Daniel commenting.  
>7 people like this<p>

**Daniel Bay **Jun, don't like that -.-

**Jun Kirman **I sowwy...

* * *

><p>James wound his way around the mess hall of the pokémon center, picking up dirty and empty trays and using their homing beacon to send them back to the kitchen unlike the lazy arses who just left them there on the table for the lagging robots to collect. Lexi came from the back room behind him carrying an industrial size bag of marshmallows.<p>

"Umm...that's a lot. Need help?" He said, marveling at the amount of food in one bag. It was like the mega-deluxe sustenance pack that you could only find at present-day's Mickey D's.

"It's light." She said over the big bag. Pots and pans were clanging from the kitchen.

"Still, let me carry it." He said, taking it from her reluctant hands. They started for the kitchen, although James almost missed the door because he was mesmerized by Lexi's long hair. The kitchen was stacked with so much stuff that Lexi was unsure where Daniel went. When she first came in the cafeteria, he just yelled out the door for her to get the marshmallows out of storage.

On the left, a large, deep basin sat with piles and piles of dirty trays on it. Someone was just scrubbing the plates, rinsing, and then sending it down the conveyor belt for special soap and drying methods. In the left section there was a ceiling-tall steel cupboard with clean trays with plates and silverware stacked on it. On the right was a hallway leading to the ovens, and further down past another sink was another hallway that led to the preparation area and fridge.

"I can smell the sustenance packs!" James said in a shrill voice. He scurried to the back right hall with Lexi rubbing her bare arms consciously under all the steam the machines were giving off. They found Daniel sitting around a large square table and tearing gram-crackers apart. Pita on the other hand was sitting on the door to the walk-in fridge smuggling chocolate. James placed the sack of marshmallows on the table.

"So we had a Facebook page this whole time, and you didn't tell me?" Lexi said, still not over that.

Daniel shrugged. "Wasn't really important. Forgot that you could access the internet on your PokéGear."

"So we're really doing this campfire thing again?" James asked, taking a seat next to the sack. "With that Sherry girl?...I'm kind of scared, to be honest."

Lexi melted under his scared face. "Aww, come on! She's not that creepy. I'm sure all of the other kids in her group are...normal."

"Hah, sure." Daniel laughed shortly. "With Rodolfo as their leader, he's probably driven all of them mad."

"If they weren't already..." James added in a mutter.

Daniel clapped his hands together, presumably dropping the topic. "Alright so here's how we'll do it; I'll preheat the oven, you guys start sandwiching these puppies. And Pita, _quit eating the chocolate!_"

His Panpour stuck her tongue at him, turned brown from the candy. Daniel left for the oven.

"So what did you do with that strand of hair?" Lexi said, tossing James a pair of disposable gloves. He froze, allowing the gloves to smack him in the face and fall in his lap.

"I—uh—orange."

"...Well, like I said. One more Lexi, one less James." She smiled sweetly at her hollow threat as she unwrapped a gigantic chocolate bar.

Daniel was heating the oven up when his styler started going off again. With an irritated groan he flipped it open, expecting another taunting comment from Rodolfo about how he's going to steal Megan away from him. Instead it was a message from his Dad, but the file was too big to be seen on his screen.

He returned back to the teens who had begun stacking the s'mores pyramid-style.

"James, do you have a fold-up monitor on you?"

"...Nouw..." James answered with a mouthful of gram crackers.

"Yeah he does. He was just using it a second ago to look up the Heimlich maneuver in case he chokes on ten gram crackers." Lexi said, giggling. James shot her a look, irritated for a moment that she ratted him out. He passed a square item to Daniel.

Daniel thanked him, went back over to the ovens, and opened the device. The monitor snapped together tightly and the styler was plugged into it. The screen on the styler was magnified on the monitor.

He opened the message.

_This is what she looks like in her pokémon form._

The picture was clear, dark, and in grayscale from a security footage. From what he could tell the creature was human in form with attachments much like pokémon-parts. The creature was medium sized, had shoulder-length hair, and the eyes were large and square-ish. He couldn't make out the face that well as most of it was covered by the creature's rock-like wings. It had horns, a tail, and wore a brown shirt-pouch that looked familiar.

"That's...creepy." He muttered, scrolling down the message. There was more information that his Dad compiled.

_She is about sixteen years old we presume. She's grown up in our labs but we've allowed her enough freedom for her to have a second life. She doesn't show her full human form to us so we have no picture of that. We need you to be cautious when you near her._

_Her DNA is combined with Kyurem, and don't ask how we were able to do that. She's a scientific miracle, and with her leaving without notice, we're worried she might scare the public. Lately her powers have developed._

_So far we've recorded her speed, flight, and powers of ice. If you begin seeing frost in all the wrong places, you know you've found her. _

The message came to an end and Daniel sighed. On one hand, he didn't want to hunt down a Kyurem-human thing. She wanted freedom. That's what all of his city troopers wanted, and the last thing he wanted to do was end that. On the other hand...he wanted to please his Dad.

He saved the picture for later. He wondered if Megan could be as ruthless as that and take some stranger's freedom away for a life in a cage. What was he thinking—

Of course she could.

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_Time to go up the mountain! ;D No reception up there! Don't message me!_

**Lexi Redstone **Don't you care about the volcano across it?

**Sherry Brogan **Not really

**Serena Valliya **It's going to blow. We already checked.  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **And Mr. Rodolfo proved you wrong. So you're wrong.  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **So who's this chick?

**Lexi Redstone **She's on a rival team

**Sherry Brogan **Hi! I like your profile picture ;P

**Lucas Taylor **Ditto :D

**Lexi Redstone **Oh gross guys not on here...

**James Lopreo **I've got S'MORES! So get off Facebook and help me carry it!

**Lexi Redstone **Coming...

* * *

><p>"Figures he'd be fashionably late." Daniel muttered, staring at the time on his styler. Ashka and Gerard had arrived first and were sitting on rocks. Then Serena arrived, unsure where to sit because Ashka was just daring her to plop onto the rock next to Gerard. Then Daniel, Lexi, and James came with the three containers of baked s'mores and a cooler.<p>

"Can we start hiking without them?" Ashka asked, bored with sitting.

"That would be rude." Lexi said, pouting at the thought of leaving people behind.

"Actually, I saw them hiking up the other side of the mountain a few minutes ago." Gerard said, pointing behind them. Everyone turned their heads, unbelieving what they were hearing.

"_What_? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Daniel said, stomping up the hill. The two on the rocks followed.

"I didn't know that's who we were waiting for..." Gerard said, turning bright red from all the glares in his direction. "I only recognized the red-head."

"We're racing them to the top then!" Daniel said, pulling out Pita's pokéball. "Everyone get a partner pokémon to help you uphill!" Pita was released and given the three containers to carry. They were bigger than her but she wasn't having much difficulty climbing. She and Daniel led the way, heading up the marked narrow path.

Ashka followed behind him with her Charizard, and Gerard stuck close with his Lampent lighting the way as the sun began to set. Lexi and her Scrafty pranced up the mountain side, sliding upwards together and making it a dance, while Serena and James just shared his Luxray because her pokémon were too small to help climb.

They entered a narrow chamber in the mountain. Words were carved into it, but it was hard to read without Gerard's Lampent close by. Daniel rushed them through to the other side and up another hill. The pattern continued for the next few minutes, but no one complained yet. Everyone was wondering who would snap first—obviously not Ashka or Gerard, but James was starting to slip a bit and Lexi had stopped dancing after the third hill.

After they exited the latest chamber, all the buildings in Fallarbor were the size of legos.

"How much higher?" Ashka asked, peering up. She couldn't see much except the mountain wall.

Daniel closed the cap to the canteen he had just drunken out of and peered up as well. "Hmm...I'd say we're nearing the staircase. You can see the mouth of the volcano from here." He jerked his thumb behind him where almost half a mile a away, the soon-to-be erupting volcano sat.

"I say we still should've told them about the lava..." Lexi muttered, feeling guilty.

"They'll evacuate after the explosion." Daniel shrugged. "Just won't be able to save everyone. That's what they get for listening to Rodolfo."

"It's still not right." She muttered.

"Shouldn't we have went further if that was the case?" Gerard asked, unbelieving that a volcano was about to burst. His mind suddenly wandered to the alien gun that sat at the bottom of his hiking pack. Could it possibly save the day with one blast?

"Yeah! I hear Lavaridge town is on the other side of the mountain." James agreed.

"They have a hot spring there..." Serena whispered, rubbing her non-waterproof camera worryingly.

Daniel just shrugged and continued up the narrow grassy hill. The guardrails were higher and thicker here, probably so it could sustain the eruptions of the volcano nearby. It wasn't nearly as rusted as the guardrails on the volcano.

Just halfway up the hill where patches alternated between rock and grass, the ground beneath them began to tremor. Pita screamed in surprise, dropping all the containers. The containers slid down the hill but Lexi and Serena caught them before they fell off the edge. A stronger shake shook the whole mountain and Gerard and Ashka instantly latched onto her Charizard. Lexi couldn't hold to a guardrail and was slipping downwards, her flat boots accelerating her.

"AHH! James!" She screamed, her nails digging into the dirt, her other hand outstretched for him. But James was already securing Serena who was trying to juggle two containers of s'mores without slipping.

"Someone get Lexi before she hurts herself!" Daniel said, stabling himself between the guardrail and the side of the shaking mountain.

"Rocks!" Ashka shrieked, her eyes pointing a few yards above Lexi. Pebbles were raining down for now, but the shaking was becoming more and more violent that larger chunks of rocks were starting to fall.

"Scrafty use Head Smash!" Lexi cried, closing her eyes and bracing herself. Scrafty got into a preparing stance, waited for the boulder to drop, and then _SMASH!_, rock and head collide. The boulder bounced off the edge of the mountain, harmlessly going over Lexi. She let out a sigh of relief.

The tremors settled for now and James cautiously inched down the guardrail to aid Lexi. He took her hand, but then his PokéGear slid out of his pocket, sliding down the hill.

"My baby!" James cried, running after it.

"Sure, you'd help you're PokéGear, but not _me_?" Lexi called after him, wanting to glower at his obsession over gadgets.

"It stopped now, get up here!" Daniel prodded as Ashka and Gerard and their pokémon settled into the safety of the flat cave beside him. Serena climbed up as well, taking James's Luxray with her.

Another quake stopped Lexi, making her trip over the rock patch she almost passed. Her hand caught the bar of the guardrail, but she winced when her wrist banged recklessly into the metal. James caught his PokéGear before it fell down the crack of the guardrails and secured himself to the ground as he was bumped left and right.

"Not—cool—anymore!" He said, his head making a _ding! _when it hit the guardrail.

The volcano nearby was smoking again, and the soot was heading over to them.

"The shaking stopped! Up you two!" Daniel said, hurrying to their aid. Lexi nodded as she and her Scrafty made it to the safety of the others. He pulled the delirious James from the ground and dragged him to the cave. "Everyone here?" He said loudly, wanting to get over all the chatter of the confused pokémon. Then it crossed him. Pita. "Has anyone seen my Panpour?" He said, looking around frantically for his aqua colored monkey.

"Pan!" Pita's cry echoed throughout the vast dark cave. Gerard's Lampent rose higher, illuminating more of the area.

"Not cool Pita! Stop hiding!" He yelled after her. She was wedged in between fallen rocks and the ground, still trying to pull out the cooler that was buried with her. He, Ashka, and her Charizard hurried to Pita's aid and began moving the rocks around. When Pita was safe she clambered out of the rocks and hugged Daniel's neck tightly, missing him greatly even though they were apart for a few minutes.

Ashka was almost moved by their bond. "How long have you had her?" She asked, pulling the rest of the cooler out from the rocks.

Daniel looked up, needing to think about it. "Oh I dunno...fourteen years?"

"You must be twenty-four then!" James calculated, excited that he was the first to figure out Daniel's age.

"Yeah, not much older than you." Daniel said. "But I'm still an adult, and you have to treat me like one. So are you guys ready to reach the summit?"

"What about the quakes?" Lexi asked, rubbing her bruised arms unconsciously. She didn't want to almost fall of the side of the mountain again.

"There's only one more staircase to go." Serena said, pointing to the east. Every gazed upon the staircase of rock probably older than their ancestors. Light seeped through the ceiling, which must've meant there was an exit up there.

Finally close to reaching the top, the teens ran up the staircase with Daniel trailing behind slower, admiring their energetic ways. He used to be like that, but now a days he realized that he had a whole life ahead of him, and he could cruise at whatever speed he wanted. He didn't have to worry about peer pressure, college, getting a job, and dating. Maybe that was too much to think about on a simple three-story staircase, but without Megan around to chat with him, he thought philosophically. He also knew he was missing her a lot. There was a part in his heart that was throbbing at her absence.

The first thing everyone hears as soon as they reach the summit:

"That ugly hike ruined my manicure! Arg!"

"...But we rode the cable car."

The summit was wide, expansive, and beautifully serene. Parts of the mountain cascaded over the terrain like fingers reaching for the grass, creating little chamber-paths that look like a ribcage. Tall coniferous trees were scattered around, but far apart enough to see past the edge of the mountain, past the guardrails to the volcano a half-mile away.

Rodolfo's team was already walking around and checking the place out. Sherry was with two other girls, one with bright green hair and a bad attitude and the other with dirty blonde hair with mostly likely the most common sense. The last one was a jittery tall lavender haired fellow who was playing a dramatic game of hopscotch.

"Wait, there was a cable car?" Lexi said, often the only one who mentioned the other way of transportation.

"You're late." Rodolfo said, strutting over with an air of confidence that angered Daniel to his core. "Although I didn't expect much from a _noob._"

"You're all talk and no walk!" Daniel pointed out, eyebrows pressed against his eyes to form a GRR face.

"That expression is old news." Gerard muttered, leaning towards the edge of the inner circle the group formed cooley.

"You're really no help here." Daniel muttered to the side.

"ANYWAY," Rodolfo said, managing to put the spotlight on himself again, "I was just checking out the place, scanning for pokémon and all. I found some birds, a camel, and a cluster of really screwy pandas. I think we're safe."

"Pandas? Ooh where are they?" Lexi gushed, looking around. Ashka rolled her eyes at how much of a girl Lexi was being.

"I'll find them!" James declared, wanting for the life of him to do something to get Lexi to like him.

"I'd like to study the Spindas as well." Serena said, following the two as they went to explore. Ashka and Gerard went off to themselves, leaving just Daniel and Rodolfo and Pita with the s'mores and cooler. Rodolfo's group was keeping to themselves and was trying to wake up the Numel sleeping under a tree nearby.

"Did you _really _check the radar?" Daniel asked him, giving him an unbelieving look.

Rodolfo smirked and started walking away, giving Daniel a good look at his back side. "I'm the better ranger for a reason, if you forgot."

* * *

><p>The sun fell, making it completely pitch black by six at night. Gerard and Ashka sat with their pokémon, grooming them and talking to them about what's been going on. Gerard was giving his Lampent a stern talking to about almost stealing James's soul while Ashka was brushing through her Prinplup's wings.<p>

Irene's words during that contest still echoed in her mind. _Not everything. _Her brown eyes had buried an itchy secret that caused Ashka to doubt Gerard. Were there really secrets between them? But she told him everything, even the personal stuff. Even her period days and how dirt poor her family was, but she dealt through it with her head held high. And she knew everything about him, how he used to tutor the skanks in class and had to pass down their teasing deep v-necks because he wore a promise ring that he tells everyone is a class ring from a girl he knows in Nacrene, just to get the other girls off his back.

Gerard was going to James to apologize about his Lampent, leaving his hiking pack vulnerable. Ashka felt guilty doing this, but she had a sneaking suspicion that her answers would be in his bag. She pulled it into the darker parts of the woods near the guardrails, his pokémon very nonchalant and uncaring about it. Once at the guardrails away from other eyes, she unzipped it.

Her eyes fell with disappointment. It was just clothes, some snacks, chargers, and extra stuff. There was no evidence in his bag that he held secrets. She stared at the tiny picture frame that was attached to the zipper of the back pack. The picture was of him and her when they went on a conjoined-family vacation to Niagara Falls. She was pretending to pinch his cheek and he was giving her a really cute annoyed look.

"Hey Ashka, where are you?" Gerard called, back at the site with their pokémon. Her heart nearly banged out of her chest from the scare. She saw the smoke of the newly lit campfire and remembered that she was here to have fun, not worry about Gerard. She zipped the pack back up, but as things moved around, a blue light caught her eye.

She unzipped the bag again and moved the clothes aside, uncovering…

…A nerf gun?

"What in the hell…" She muttered, lifting the object up to her face. The neon rods lit up her face, illuminating her fascination.

"Ashka!" Gerard came from the side, cursing that she found the gun in his bag. The real question was—why was she going _through _it?

"What the hell is this?" She said, shoving it in his face as he got closer. He tried to swipe it from her but she pulled it back protectively, now convinced that he's got some explaining to do.

"I found it! Put it down before you set it off!" He said, refusing to reach for it like a child like his mind was telling him to.

"Not until you tell me what else you've been hiding!" She argued, setting the weapon in her arms. "Do you suddenly have a girlfriend now with the new little play thing in my hands!"

"Enough with the girlfriend thing!" He groaned, whipping away from her. For a split second, she thought she had actually made him mad, and that set her stomach to a twist. He yelled, "I don't have a girlfriend, I don't want a girlfriend! In fact, I can't even get one because you scare all the girls away with your possessiveness! God!"

He was cracking. She replied defensively with, "I'm just protecting you!"

"I don't _need _you to protect me!" He turned back to her, and she was suddenly frightened by the sweat flooding his face. It wasn't even that hot out here. Was he sick or something?

"You never told me what this thing is." She whispered in surrender. She couldn't meet his eyes in fear of the fire she'd see in it.

He covered his face with his hand and wiped off the sweat. "I don't know…some freaky plasma thing. It was just in the middle of route 116. Might come from aliens."

"_Aliens?" _She hissed. "Is that the load of bullcrap you're shoving into my face now? Tell me what the gun is REALLY for."

"I told you!" He said, angry again that she doesn't believe him. "Irene's an alien! It's probably one of her weirdo devices to enslave the human race!"

_Irene. _All signs lead back to her. Somehow, someway, Irene had planted a seed of doubt into Ashka, and now it's coming back at them big-time. She clenched her grip on the handle of the gun, infuriated at all the things that's been kept from her all this time. She twisted the nozzle of the gun and released the safety lock.

"What are you doing!" Gerard exclaimed as she aimed the gun at the volcano.

"Alien gun." She scoffed. "Just as fake as your promise ring."

_WOWM! _She fired the laser! A giant blew orb shot into the air, racing like a bullet towards the volcano. It was like a comet, falling right into the mouth of the volcano. The lava hissed as the orb crashed into it.

"Oh my God! Did you guys see that?" Lexi cried from the campfire.

"Pwetty!" James said, sounding like he had a mouth full of s'mores.

Ashka and Gerard stumbled as the whole ground beneath them shook ferociously. The volcano behind them growled menacingly as if alive.

"Look at what you did!" Gerard shouted over the sound of hissing. He took the gun from her and stashed it back at the bottom of his bag, remembering to put the lock on the trigger. They could hear Daniel shouting at Rodolfo to stop panicking because he thinks the mountain they're on is going to set on fire.

The two ran back to the bonfire when behind them, the volcano plumed smoke, followed by a sickeningly loud explosion sound. Flaming rocks smeared across the night sky, heading somewhere in town. A few were coming their way but Pita was using scald to stop them from reaching.

Sparks erupted from the top of the volcano like a geyser, like a fireworks show low in the sky. The teens oohed and awed, all except Gerard and Ashka who knew more than they did. _BOOOOM! _Another explosion shattered the area, with more flaming rocks and sparks that reached far and high. Lava was spilling over the side of the volcano, heading straight for Fallarbor town. It flowed unrealistically quick, filling the offside channels rather quickly.

"LAVALAVALAVALAVA!" The lavender haired boy in Rodolfo's group shrieked, hysterically pointing at the volcano.

"Pan!" Pita withdrew as sparks flew their way, lighting the top of trees.

"Let's head inside the cave before we get hit with more flames!" Daniel said, pointing back to the entrance from which they came.

"No, Daniel you're being ridiculous again! The flames cannot, will not, and will never hit us! I'm already too hot for it!" Rodolfo said cockily.

"Fine then, YOU stay here!" Daniel said as his group took their bags and pokémon and ran for the cave entrance. Pita put out all of the fires and the bonfire before following her trainer. Sherry and her fellow troopers followed them, too afraid of the upcoming sparks and flames to stick around.

"Cowards!" Rodolfo called after them.

Daniel counted heads as they past the entrance. Ashka, Gerard, James, Lexi, Sherry, purple kid, blonde, and green. Someone was missing.

* * *

><p>Red sirens were blaring all over Fallarbor town. <em>WOMMM! WOMMM! DANGER! DANGER! <em>Sparks from the volcano lit buildings and forests, causing destruction all over various parts of town. Civilians and children were screaming bloody murder in fright, attempting to get into the safety of the underground tunnel elevators that were currently protruding from the ground. But some people were unlucky, left behind, and not fast enough to reach an elevator before it sunk into the ground with the rest of the townspeople.

A figure darted through the night sky, wings creepily beautiful and ominous, flapping slowly and silently to help glide. The creature swooped down, grabbed a toddler that was left on the ground, and flew it to the safety of the barracks on the opposite edge of town. No one could spot the hero, but they couldn't be more than grateful.

The creature soared above the town, hovering above the bright glaze of the lava that was nearing the tourist buildings. With one motion, blue mist surged from the creature's palms to the lava, causing it to hiss and slow. The tip of the lava dried to harmless dirt.

The creature flew to the mouth of the volcano, high above where the exploding sparks couldn't touch it. It threw back its hands, slammed them forward, and an ice beam jetted into the mouth of the volcano. The lava exploded more, and then finally the volcano hushed, and all that erupted now was smoke.

Daniel searched around the area feverishly, somehow still intact from all the sparks that had reached them. Rodolfo was still trying to put out the embers on his behind when Serena emerged from the woods with trembling hands.

"There you are! Where have you been! You could've been killed!" Daniel yelled, ushering her back into the mountain entrance.

"I-I had to go to the bathroom." She stammered, her feet almost unable to catch up with her. Her hands were deadly cold but she hid them away before anyone tried to touch her.

The deed was done, and it could not be undone.

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_Heading to Lavaridge town tomorrow ;P sauna here I come!_

**Lucas Taylor **Bikini pics plz?

**Lexi Redstone **no

**Serena Valliya **I'll post them tomorrow night

**Lucas Taylor **thanks :D

**Lexi Redstone **GRR Serena! If weren't in the same room I'd do something!

**Serena Valliya **So you don't want me to take pictures then?

**Lexi Redstone **No, I do...just not for Lucas's benefit

**Lucas Taylor **I know you love me ;D

**Lexi Redstone **You don't believe in love -.-

**James Lopreo **SO YOU DO LOVE HIM? ._.  
>Serena Valliya likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **No! James! Why do you come up at random moments!

**Lucas Taylor **...

* * *

><p>Verdanturf town was a quaint, pass-through type of place that Zane would've never thought of visiting. He'd never visited Hoenn either, considering it was one of the most humid regions out there. But when the portal finally brought him here, he noticed the immediate change.<p>

He was in a basement, sure, but the basement was gleaming of neon wiring and fascinating technology put to storage that he's never seen before. Most of the items had an electronic stamp that read '_Property of Verdanturf Pokémon Center_'.

Someone was coming down the steps from the main level and his reaction was to hide, but where? The lights were already on, and there were no clear hiding spots. So he just stood there, in the middle of the room, just as the woman got to the bottom of the steps.

"Err...hello." She said uneasily, uncertain how he got down here. The only ones allowed in the basement were 'Center personnel. The woman was medium sized, about tan skinned, had black eyes and black hair in a ponytail and was dressed as some sort of pokémon ranger with a vest that said '_Summer Trek 3011'_.

_3011_? Zane thought. Something was off here.

"Are you lost?" She said calmly. The woman seemed to be very friendly and forgiving of his trespassing presence. "My name is Megan. What's yours?"

"...Zane." He said.

"Are you in the summer program?" She asked.

"...I...I don't know."

She gave him a sympathetic look. Poor kid doesn't know who he is or where he's supposed to be? She can't just leave him here, even though she was just coming down here to get some wrangling rope.

"Ms. Megan, can you tell Irene and Jun to stop flossing with that one thin rope you gave us? It's gross!" Said a male voice as he came down the steps. He was young, almost as tall as Megan, with spiky blue hair and brown eyes. "Oh hey, is this one of our new campers? Sweet! Hi, I'm Lucas."

"Zane." The two fist-bumped, although Zane was peculiar to why this handshake was so contemporary in his own time. Wait, was he still _in _his own time?

"I think so." Megan said, searching around the room for something. "We have plenty of room for one more. How about it Zane? Would you like to come with us? Or do you have a different leader already?"

"Umm...sure. Okay. I'll come with you." Zane said, a little relieved that he didn't have to wander into this new world blind. Megan found a box and pulled thin, bright wire out of it.

"Radical!" Lucas said. "Another guy to join the group! Oh, you'll love us. We're all awesome. You might get annoyed by Jun though, cause he's a total elevator mat sometimes. And the chicks in this town are HOT. You'll love them. And wait till you meet the other groups! There's this blonde chick named Lexi who totally loves to argue with me. Good times. Oh, and we're about to go catch some pokémon the old-fashioned way—with rope! Fun huh?" He continued to ramble, causing Zane to get bored and only catch bits and pieces.

Megan sighed as she followed them. Boys will be boys, no matter what time period they come from.

* * *

><p><strong>X) I've been reading a Facebook pokemon fic lately, and it was really funny :P If you think about it, the world is getting more and more connected, and in the future, they're always on facebook! But hey, any complaints, I'll quit putting those scenes :P I kind of like it, cause it helps transition things along. <strong>

**OH, AND the pictures are up for Daniel's group. So that would be Ashka, Gerard, James, Lexi, and Serena. Others will be drawn sometime after this update, so look out for it :P**

**P.S, My goal for this chapter is to reach 50 reviews :P We can do it! Yeah!**


	10. Fried Eggs

**Chapter Nine - Fried Eggs  
><strong>_Fallarbor town Pokemon Center_

"Mmkay, I'll wake her up. LEGGO MY EGGO!" James shouted to Daniel as he entered the room Serena was staying in. Lexi and Ashka shared this room with her, but both had reported earlier that Serena wasn't there. They assumed she went somewhere and came back after they left. When James looked around, he found her bed next to the window still empty. The sheets, stirred, so she must've slept there. He peered out the window that led to the fire escape.

Serena was sprawled across the asphalt in the alley three stories down.

"Danger! Danger!" James stammered like a fracasbot as he jumped onto the fire escape that lowered to the ground after sensing his weight. He hopped off the platform and rushed to her aid, but once he touched her skin, his fingers flinched away. Her skin was so icy cold that it burned. Ice crystals dotted her skin like goosebumps.

And under her, it seemed that an explosion went off and instead of black burns, there were ice burns.

But when he reached for her again, her baby blue eyes snapped open, and in an instant she was off the ground and glaring at him for interrupting her sleep. The panic in her eyes only flashed for a second when she saw all the ice around her. James was smart; would he figure everything out in one take?

"Are you cold?" Was all James asked with his same, ever optimistic face.

She kept her stone face all the while. "I'm fine, thank you. Are we leaving town already?"

"Yeah. Mr. Daniel's giving us ten minutes to eat, and then we go." He replied, leading the way back to the front of the center. As he walked away, back turned, Serena's fingers trailed along the old, dirty brick siding of the 'Center. All the ice that had been draped across the walls and floor melted.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Oh yeah! We gotta senior on our team now! Take that!_

**Jun Kirman **Yay :3

**Lexi Redstone **Who?

**Lucas Taylor **His name is Zane. He says he's from Black City! And he's got A LOT of money...

**Lexi Redstone **OH, I see why you're friends with him _now_...

**Jun Kirman **I like people in general :3  
>3 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **So you guys at Lavaridge yet?

**Lexi Redstone **Nope, we're leaving Fallarbor now.

**Serena Valliya **Hey Lexi, I have a question for you. Why do you keep commenting on Lucas's status' if you don't like him?

**Lucas Taylor **Because she can't get enough of me ;D

**Lexi Redstone **That's it, I'm outta here

**Jun Kirman **I just added **Ashka Storme **and **Gerard Eckhart **to the group!

**Lucas Taylor **I'm gone ._.  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

* * *

><p>This time, to rid of the whining from his campers, Daniel led them to the cable cars that conjoined Fallarbor and Lavaridge. The operator sat them in a gazebo-type car and locked the door so that no one coughJamescough would fall out. Lexi was rejoicing at the fact that they weren't going to trudge through another mountain. The height they were at made it seem like they would be pancakes if they dare jump out of the gazebo.<p>

"This ride'll take thirty minutes to get across the mountain, and ten to lower to town. Enjoy your ride." The operator said. The gazebo sped off at a fair speed with just a push of a button, and thankfully the windows were rolled up so the wind wouldn't push their skin into their faces.

'Twas quiet for now, filled with awkward silence. Ashka and Gerard didn't sit that close, still a bit shaken up from their argument last night. Lexi sat next to Gerard, but at a respectable distance not to anger Ashka. After her sat Serena, Daniel, Pita, and then James in a circle-like position.

Before they hit the mountains and reception was lost, Lexi pulled up a conversation about something she saw on Twitter earlier this morning.

"Hey, have you guys seen the thing trending on twitter? Everyone in Fallarbor is hash tagging _ice monster_. Apparently during the eruption a pokémon saved the town by freezing the upcoming lava and settling the volcano." She said, pulling up Twitter just as wifi blew out.

"Saw it. It's media crap." Ashka stated. This caused Serena to be a bit uneasy at her cold words.

"Really? I didn't know you networked."

"I saw it too. I believe it." Gerard said. Lexi brightened at the fact that he was talking to her for once, much like James does when a human interacts with him. "They said it was a grey pokémon. I bet it was an Articuno."

"No, no, no. Incorrect region." James intervened. "We're in Hoenn! It's only natural to believe it was a Regice."

"They said it was grey, not ice." Gerard shot back.

"I don't think it was a pokémon at all." Daniel said, silencing everyone's side discussions. "My Dad is on the hunt for a half-breed—half pokémon, half human. I bet it was her."

Serena was fidgeting some more and playing with the red belt of her pants.

"Those don't exist! Scientists attempted the study centuries ago and the gene splicing never engineered correctly!" James protested. Inside, he was curiously suspicious of the events he witness earlier today.

"Remember, we're in the 31st century!" Daniel reminded. "Anything is possible!"

"Then I think we should leave it alone." Lexi said triumphantly. "Let nature take its course. If it is to be found, it will be found."

The gazebo fell to a hush again with everyone contemplating on what's been said. Half breeds, existing? James wasn't at all skeptical about this. From what he's seen, someone in this very car could be harboring an exciting, incredibly cool secret. Why she's keeping it such a secret, though, is a mystery to him.

* * *

><p>Lavaridge town was in view, and anyone who was awake woke up the person beside them. The town had silver buildings that reflected off each other, neon lights that emitted eco-friendly Pokémon-repellent, and had many rivers running through it like Venice. The coasts were filled with sand that had tiny bulges most likely being people buried under there. The gazebo was descending to the cable car station near the mountain behind them.<p>

"Wow! I call sand castle building first!" Lexi said as she rolled down her window to get a better look of the city. James had an itching feeling to play through her hair as the breeze did.

"I heard the rivers are like hot tubs here." Gerard said, sharing Lexi's window to see past. She was delighted that he was comfortable enough to be this close while Ashka was visibly sulking.

"Does anyone get to challenge the gym leader here?" Ashka inquired as she boredly stared out her window, where the only view was greasy building tops. The trainers of the gazebo (Ashka and Lexi) were keeping their ears peeled to hear his response.

"Sure, if any of you are interested." Daniel said. Pita cried out in joy at the thought of a battle and began hopping around the footrest area. The cable car came to a clean, smooth stop and the one door between James and Daniel slid open.

"Welcome to Lavaridge!" Said the conductor as they readied their bags and stepped off.

"So where to first? Gym or Sauna?" Daniel asked as everyone assembled around him. The choice was pretty much clear when you counted the eyes pointing at the steaming water nearby.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to give you advice. With girls, in a hot spring, there are rules you must follow. Are you willing to listen to my wisdom?"<p>

James nodded eagerly to Gerard's advice. Gerard seemed like such a cool guy, nothing must go wrong with him.

"Alright, rule number one," Gerard started, "Is not to stare at whatever swimwear they're wearing. Okay, maybe for a few seconds, but any longer and they'll think you're staring at their racks."

"But—But—" James cried, hands dramatically slapped on his cheeks, "I'm so aloof!"

"...No, no you're not." Gerard chuckled. "Also, don't try and touch them in inappropriate places when they're in the water. You're going to get kicked in unmentionable places."

"Understandable."

"Let's see...Oh yeah, lastly, no "surprise bubbles" in the water. I'm pretty sure they don't take kindly to that." Gerard teased as he pushed open the door to the outside. James stood nervously in the boy's locker room with his Kadabra carrying a towel behind him. Daniel was in the exclusive 'adults only' spring where they could run around buck naked. James closed his rented locker and highly anticipated what awaited him on the other side of the door.

_...Oh boo. The girls aren't even out here yet. _James gave a defeated smile as he took in the area of the sauna. Steam clouded most of the area, making it hard to see the lawn chairs off to the side and the random palm trees implanted into the tile. Brown fence bordered off the area from the rest of the town and wildlife. The pool stretched out in a figure-eight shape, one end shallow to two foot and the other deeper, around four or five foot. Cube 'bots with metal trays attached to their fronts hovered around with glass cups of lemonade and soda or whatever was ordered from patrons. The pool was a little empty with maybe a few other people near the shallow end and Gerard at the deep end with an inner tube and his goggles.

"CANNON BAAAALL!" James shouted, running towards the deeper end,

A whistle went off from the lifeguardbot. It's emote screen was an angry face. "NO DIVING. NO DIVING."

"...Aww..." He muttered, skidding to a stop. His Kadabra settled on a lawn chair. James took a seat at the edge and stuck his toe in the water to test out the temperature. It was pretty warm, maybe even a relaxing hot feel if someone had just returned from the A/C of the building. It was probably 100, 105 degrees tops. He had to gasp at how much it burned when his whole body was immersed.

Gerard floated over. "Hey, did you know they have hot sand beds here too? My Ralts is telling me it's even hotter than the water." He said, pointing past the deep end where a little corridor led to an area of sand pits and robots programmed to bury you alive.

"WHAT! You've crossed the language barrier that our ancestors have been attempting to surpass without a translator!" James shouted, spazzing out so violently that he almost drank some of the water. He can't believe that someone else had cracked the equation before he had! And_ he's_ the genius!

"...Umm...Yes...?" Gerard answered awkwardly.

"How?"

"I listened to him say his name twenty times till I started asking how hot the sand was...?"

James pulled himself underwater. Simple communication with nods and head shakes were good, yes, but he wanted REAL words! English! He was actually hoping for pokémon speech interpretation instead of this kindergarten stuff. He pulled his head out of the hot water, feeling as though some of his brain cells were fried. Brain damage from being completely enveloped in hot water was an old wives tale.

The girls all came out of their respective locker room at once, a Prinplup and Lotad tailing them. The Lotad of course belonged to Serena, while Prinplup was Ashka's. Ashka emerged first from the locker room, being the tallest and blocking out everyone. Her bathing suit consisted of a navy blue, one piece swimsuit, although her modesty greatly showed as a green nylon shirt and black spandex shorts were piled onto her. Her usually ponytailed hair was now freely swaying about in the cool summer breeze.

Behind her came Serena with her camera around her neck. Her swimwear consisted of a maroon tankini top and dark grey shorts, but by the way she disdainfully looked at the pool, it didn't seem like she was getting wet anytime soon.

Lexi came last, squealing at how beautiful and mostly tech-free the pool was. She was wearing pink-to-purple tie-dye halter bikini with the halter string being wooden African beads. Her bikini made it so easy for James to break rule numero uno, which he did shamelessly, hiding behind the one palm tree hanging over the deeper end.

"Cannon ball!" Lexi shouted, running for the water. Before the lifeguardbot could stop her she plunged into the pool, spraying hot water in every direction. She popped back up hissing with her normally cream face embarrassingly peach. "Yow! Why's this water so hot?"

"Just another reason for me not to go in." Serena muttered, wiping off her lens after that splash. Meanwhile Ashka was using the ladder to get into the pool. Gerard awkwardly floated off to the side from the wave Lexi had made, breaking rule numero uno by staring at Ashka as she waded through the water. He couldn't help it; right now, in the pool, he couldn't help but compare the two beauties before him. There was Lexi, naturally beautiful, and then there was Ashka, sophisticated beauty. He dipped his face into the water to stop the images.

"Oh, before I forget," Lexi said, hopping to the side of the pool, "James, didn't you say that studies proved that warm nesting areas speed up egg hatching?"

James nodded feverishly, still blushing that she was talking to him.

"Good! I'm going to go bury my egg into the sand then." She said, climbing out of the side of the pool. James couldn't take his eyes away from her legs.

"Ashka, you should do that too. You've had that egg for months." Gerard said, speaking as if he was forced to. He hated that she was so prying last night, but he cared about that egg just as much as she did. He was even concerned that it had a disease. The old woman at the daycare in White Forest had a poor estimate. Maybe Ashka shouldn't have picked up the egg from the shoreline during that random outing.

Ashka agreed to the decision just because she was tired of carrying the huge egg case around. She followed Lexi into the locker room, and together they took their eggs and took them to the sand area. Ashka's egg was blue with a black stripe in the middle, and Lexi's was blue with black spikes patterned at the top and red speckled.

They both buried the eggs and left their respective pokémon, Charizard and Scrafty, with them just in case someone came over and stepped on them.

The blue eggs flashed.

* * *

><p>Daniel was not the type to run around naked.<p>

So being that this was what a few drunkards were doing currently, he found his relaxing hot spring session very awkward. They're flabby bared bodies just raced across the sand, _everything _bouncing. Why they thought the women across the fence thought this was attractive was beyond him.

_Just one break, _He moaned when his styler nearby began beeping. He took his towel, climbed out of the water, and wrapped it around his midsection.

"JAMES!" He heard Serena yell all the way over on the other end of the spa. By the judging of her tone, James must've screwed something up.

The styler screen opened and a hologram of the town came up. The spa lit up in red, signaling an angry pokémon. Arrows were pointing to the other end of the spa. He sped walked and sped walked, fearing what might await at the other end of the door. He was now back at the pool area where his troopers might be, and that just made him jerk open the door with more force.

False alarm. No pokémon out here, just regular people.

_The half breed. _He remembered.

"I said I was sorry!" James cried in a high-pitched voice, wincing as Serena pulled his ear up.

"You damaged my camera! You're sorries won't fix it!" She yelled. Lexi, Gerard, and Ashka were far away watching the scene with amusement. It isn't everyday that the quiet background chick blows her top.

"I only got the lens wet!"

"You say you're so smart! You'd know to be careful around big cameras!" She finally let go of his ear.

"Anyone else notice that the water is getting chilly?" Gerard said, rubbing his goosebumpy arm.

Serena climbed out of the pool to nurse her camera with a towel. Daniel studied the projection on his styler, wondering who to accuse as the half-breed. It didn't look like anyone but Serena was furious. Could it be...

"_ATTENTION!_" All cube-robots (lifeguardbots, waiterbots) suddenly froze with their face screen blinking. Everyone was aware that this meant a public announcement was about to be broadcasted. The screens all flashed to a news channel, the lead reporter being a man in black. "_ATTENTION! WE ARE SCREENING A WARNING ADVISORY. THERE IS A DANGEROUS POKÉMON EXPERIMENTED BY THE GOVERNMENT ON THE LOOSE. IF YOU SEE THIS CREATURE, REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY._" A picture from Twitpic blew up on the screen, hash tagged "ice monster". It was grey with weird, spiked out wings and a wore a face plate. From the shot you could only make out the figure of it.

All robots returned to their previous installments once the broadcast was over. Daniel turned off his styler and retreated back into the locker rooms, ignoring how calm Serena had become and how the radar wasn't going off anymore. The message was pretty clear.

His father had called in the government because obviously, a rank D ranger just wasn't enough for him.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_A servantbot dropped my lemonade on my pants when that stupid PA went off!  
><em>4 people like this

**Lexi Redstone **lol karma

**Lucas Taylor **Oh yea? From what.

**Lexi Redstone **Obviously...from all the short period girlfriends you've had.

**Lucas Taylor **Alright now hold it! Don't dis my girlfriends.

**Jun Kirman **No fighting :3 Fighting is wrong!  
>2 people like this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **Yeah. I thought this post was about the ice monster?

**Lucas Taylor **That thing isn't real. Totally media propaganda.  
>Ashka Storme likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **Well I was in Fallarbor when it happened. I think I might've seen it.

**Sherry Brogan **Hey! Mind if I cut in? This thing is crap. Thread closed.

**Lucas Taylor **Heyyy! I see you changed your profile pic again ;D

**Sherry Brogan **I did ;P

**Lexi Redstone **...-.-'

* * *

><p>"Scraft! Scraf-teee!" A wail rings throughout the pool area. Lexi looks up from sunbathing, and James turns his head away from her sneakily. Even from here they could make out a light shining in the sand area.<p>

"My egg is hatching!" Lexi shrieked as she ran to the back. Ashka and Gerard swapped glances, silently agreeing to go watch just because. Serena came as well just to watch the miracle of life. Scrafty had unburied Lexi's blue egg and now all of its lines and patterns were glowing wildly, flashing off and on, and the egg itself was jerking side to side.

"Whatshouldwedowhatshouldwedo!" James panicked. Did one really know the medical procedures for correct pokémon birth? "Umm...PUSH POKÉMON, PUSH!" The only pokémon he's ever hatched was his Luxray when he was six, but his father had been in the room when it happened. It was just the teens now.

Serena brought over a servantbot and Lexi ordered pokémon food shortly after punching in her trainer's license code. As the servantbot left to process their order, the egg began morphing. Ashka and Serena covered their eyes so not to be blind while James was calling out pokémon names in hopes that he would be right. Gerard on the other hand was just leaning on the fence and watching it like a TV show.

The first thing to emerge from the egg were two front stumps for legs. Still glowing, the hind legs emerged and a tail propped up. Lastly, a head curled out, revealing a long furry neck. The light faded away...and a Deino stood in its place.

"Deino!" The pokémon barked. Lexi squealed and attacked her new pokémon into a hug, loving how soft its fur felt and how soft its baby skin was.

"Ah, Deino, the Irate pokémon." James said, studying the newborn. "Deino's tend to bite everything and can be very dangerous. KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME!" He ran away with his arms flailing up, nearly knocking into the servantbot that was returning with a bowl of pokémon pellets.

"Aww, you're not dangerous, are you honey?" Lexi cooed, threading her fingers through Deino's fur. Deino's head started dipping around and sniffing the sand.

"Wow, you've got a rare hatch." Serena said, sitting next to Deino. When she moved to pet Deino's head, its clamped it's mouth over her hand. Everyone froze and waited for her to explode. But she merrily smiled and used her other hand to pat the dragon's head. Lexi rose her eyebrow.

"Doesn't that hurt?" She inquired.

Serena shook her head. "Deino doesn't have its teeth yet."

"It's really cool." Gerard said, bringing over the food that the servantbot brought. "Can I feed it? I've never hatched a pokémon before."

"Of course you can." Lexi said, smiling sweetly. She was just happy that Ashka wasn't glaring at her for communicating back! Gerard grinned small and started tossing pellets at Deino, who caught them in its mouth much like venus fly trap.

Ashka scoffed at how much attention Lexi was getting just for hatching a rare pokémon like Deino. Maybe she was jealous. Just a tiny bit. Maybe there were more factors to this jealousy, like how nice she was and how pretty she was without even trying. And then add the fact that she had future powerful pokémon in her mitts. Lexi was the complete package, and it looked like Gerard was buying it.

"Charii..." Ashka's Charizard lowly sang a few yards away, sitting near a glowing spot in the sand. Ashka's eyes widened in surprise. _Her _egg was hatching too? Wow, this sand must be magic! She looked back at the others, still clustered around Deino like it was the newest generation tablet. She dug out her egg, stuffed it in her shirt, and ran out into the pool area through the locker room and lobby and out to the front of the building at the parking lot. Her Charizard swooped down from the air, having followed her through flight.

Ashka accidentally dropped the egg just as it bounced out of her hands. She held in her gasp, hoping she hadn't damaged the pokémon within. The egg was morphing through its shine, and the first to happen is the shell shrinking to a tiny body. Legs, arms, and ears were visible. When the light faded away, there was a Riolu standing instead of an egg.

She wanted to be happy, but there was the shadow of rarity. _Everyone else has a Riolu. _Serena has one. Lucas has one. No one is going to care for another one to add to copycats. Deino still triumphed over Riolu, and she didn't want a pokémon that everyone else had.

She turned her head away from the hug Riolu wanted.

"Go." She said forcefully. Riolu stood there, not comprehending. "I said GO." She said louder. "I don't want you. You'd be better off on your own. GO!" Her angry face scared Riolu. It got on its feet, dashed away, but looked back.

And when it looked back, Ashka was heading back into the building.

Tears evaporated into the air as Riolu raced away, into the wild, for a new home that would accept it.

* * *

><p>It was about dinner time now and James had strayed from the group when they were heading for the pokémon center. He saw something in the sky. Sometimes he wondered, was he the only one tuned into the world? Everyone else was either worried about friends or Facebook, or maybe twitter or flickr. He was more concerned to global warming, half breeds, the end of the world, and aliens.<p>

That flash in the sky was not a star, not a pokémon, not anything of this world. It was a spacecraft. He ran after the black figure in the night, still just a dot in the sky. He was now in the forest, sweat trickling down his forehead. The dot in the sky was expanding, bigger and bigger. Or as he now realized—it was getting _closer and closer._

And then something opened in the middle of the black spacecraft. The lights at the bottom flickered around much like a theater marquee. A blue light was now in the middle of the bottom of the spacecraft. A beam shot through, right in his eyes. But it was not blinding. His feet were lifting off the ground. He was being _abducted_.

_Yes! Yes! _He opened his arms towards the light, wanting it more than anything.

But then the opening of the beam closed, the lights flickered off, and he was falling back to Earth. He landed on the ground painfully. The spaceship was taking off again.

"NOOO! WAIIT! Take me with you!" He cried.

* * *

><p><strong>Serena Valliya <strong>posted picture "It hatched!". Tagged: **Lexi Redstone**, **Gerard Eckhart  
><strong>3 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **Dang...nice bikini Lexi ;P

**Lexi Redstone **I believe Deino is the star of this picture, Lucas.

**Lucas Taylor **Not according to my rack-spotting binoculars!

**Gerard Eckhart **I kind of look like a father in this picture with my arm around you Lexi...sorry

**Lexi Redstone **It's all cool Gerard. You can play as Deino's daddy if you want :3

**Lucas Taylor** ...No way, Gerard, are you making moves on Lexi? :[  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **I'm not dude.

**Lucas Taylor **Uh huh. Like I believe that.

**Lexi Redstone **Why do you even care? It's not like you like me. Unless...

**Lucas Taylor **Don't go there city girl. I don't date for LTRs.

**Serena Valliya **Life time rules?

**Lucas Taylor **LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS.

**Lexi Redstone **As if you're capable of those.

**Lucas Taylor **:[

* * *

><p>Gerard was now out near the battlefields of the pokémon center, alone of course. He jingled the pokéballs on his belt around as he walked. He took a look at the sky, wondering what his friends and family back home were doing. And then something flew by. He stood up straighter and searched the sky again.<p>

He was familiar with Unovan and Hoennese spacecrafts flying about in the sky, but none of them were in the shape of the one that passed by. This one was the in the shape of a tortilla chip with fancy back blasters and a nose that lit up like Christmas tree lights. It's underside had marquee lights around the edge. So apparently, some nation had a pizza-shaped spacecraft.

There it was again. This time it was flying slower, circling around town. It was high up, so right now it was the size of a real chip at this distance. And then it started getting bigger...and bigger...

And then something opened in the middle of the bottom of the ship. There was a blue light. The spaceship was directly under him.

He fled. He was reaching the pokémon center doors, but then suddenly, he was engulfed in a blue light. Next thing he knew he was going up the shoot and was now inside a teleport pad. Around him was spectacular technology on the dashboard and windows that displayed the sky.

He was in the spacecraft.

Two blue-skinned aliens were seated nearby.

"Did you get the right guy this time Kai?"

"Yeah, I did."

Irene was one of them, in her alien form. Gerard couldn't move. He was paralyzed for some reason. The driver of the spacecraft, most likely named Kai, was the same skin tone of Irene, maybe darker. He wore a regular button up white shirt and jeans. It was strange to see aliens wear human clothes.

"Irene! What the hell is this!" Gerard said, unable to move anything but his eyes and mouth.

Kai turned in his swivel chair. "So the human knows your alien identity."

"There was a mishap." Irene said to Kai. "That's why we have him now."

Gerard feared what she'd do to him. Burn him? Dissect him? Clone him? Who knows what advanced technology this new race has.

"I'll get the scrambler." Kai got up from his chair and left to the back room.

Irene walked to Gerard, still shorter to him. "Enjoying the journey so far?" She asked him, eyes bright and happy. She was enjoying the awkward.

"Let me outta here before I tell everyone who you are." Gerard growled.

"You have no proof."

"Oh yeah? I got one of your alien guns in my backpack in the pokémon center." He shot back. "It's some pretty powerful stuff. Even set off a volcano."

Her expression changed to confusion. Ears, shaped like trumpets, began to move much like radars. Then they dropped. "...We're missing something. The terraformer ray."

"...The terra _what_?" Gerard said.

"It's not a gun, silly human. It's a ray that morphs landscapes into something life sustainable, like rivers and mountainsides. Even craters."

Everything made sense now. The rods on the gun, they moved and twisted. They changed color to change a specific element into something else. That kind of device was so revolutionary it could change everything, like lowering the sea level and cleansing the air of diesel and carbon dioxide.

Kai returned with another gun-like device. "Here is the scrambler." He said, handing it to Irene.

She smirked and closed an eye to get a perfect shot at Gerard's forehead.

"Just close your eyes Gerard, this won't hurt a bit. It'll only erase your entire life's memories."

* * *

><p><strong>And that marks the climax. IMPORTANT! Next chapter, there will be a gym battle, and I need people to vote on who will be battling. (Poll on profile) Deadline is Friday, and if there are no votes by then, I'll just choose at random. Also, I was planning on drawing that "It hatched!" picture, but right now I've got a project to do and I wanted to get this chapter updated. If you guys are willing to wait till next update, I might be able to draw it.<strong>

**I'd like to personally thank that earthquake for a cool, thrilling, scary experience and for closing my school to do this update :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. The Storm, Part 1 of 2

**Chapter Ten - The Storm, Part 1 of 2  
><strong>_Lavaridge Town Pokemon center, next morning_

"Would you like help with that?"

Daniel opted for assisting with breakfast than thinking about Megan. Sure, easier said than done. He activated waiterbots and stacked trays on trays outside of the kitchen, free for anyone staying at the 'Center to take. He poured glasses of water for the breakfast rush, catching his campers somewhere in between. Still, one black-eyed lady sat in his vision. He stayed quiet most of the morning, contemplating on what to say once they met again.

After the rush had been catered to, Daniel took his own tray of breakfast and went over to the table that Ashka, Lexi, James, and Serena were seated to. This was probably one of the first times they've sat together without him forcing them to. Other times it would be Ashka and Gerard in the corner tables, and James lost somewhere between old men and women.

"What are we doing today Mr. Daniel?" Lexi inquired as he sat. The other's were interested as well, but they were too consumed in their pre-packaged meals to ask.

"I suggest we dissect the local Numel and check their temperatures for abnormal readi...—umm—" James started stammering at this point because everyone else was just giving him a dead look. "We could—umm—hunt for shiny pokémon...?"

"As interesting as that sounds, no." Daniel said, disappointing Serena who really wanted to see Shiny pokémon. "I've already got today planned out. We're going to the pokémon gym!" He grinned and looked around the table, looking for a bright spark in trainers' eyes. Either everyone was emotion-dead from last night's run of old fright night movies, or they were all pretty good at masking their excitement.

"Who gets to battle?" Ashka asked.

"Thanks to my amazing planning skills," Daniel said, mocking Rodolfo's "bragging" voice, "I managed to get a spot for all of you. But due to limited space, and the fact that none of you have badges yet, the gym leader requested that you all battle in pairs. So pick partners."

Everyone glanced at each other, wondering who would choose who for the battles. More so, the girls were wondering who would be the sucker to be stuck with James. They weren't at all doubting his battle skills, they just didn't want to _share _the field with him.

"Wait, there are five of us." Ashka pointed out. "One of us is going to be battling alone."

"Can that be me? I WILL CRUSH THE GYM." James roared randomly while he thrashed his arms in the air to prove that he serious.

"No way, I want to battle alone. I have the strongest pokémon." Ashka argued.

"Hold on! Who said _you _have the strongest pokémon?" Lexi said with a light laugh, causing Ashka to turn red. "I say there should be a raffle to see who gets the single spot!"

"Why, so you can win by default? Blonde move." Ashka snapped back.

Lexi gasped. "You—you—hey! Just because I'm _blonde _doesn't mean I always want to settle things by chance! Why do you have to be so mean?"

Ashka recoiled. "I'm not mean." She stated.

Lexi couldn't believe this. Her head was swimming with such frustration over how incredibly difficult Ashka was, but she didn't want to call her out on it. "GRRA! Yes you are!" She cried while balling up her fists. "You give everyone but Gerard the friggin' cold shoulder, and I'm so angry about it! I WANT TO BE _FRIENDS_!" She dropped her arms, dropped her anger. "Lucas is probably right." She hissed, looking down to her lap. "It's not worth associating with the _village trash_."

Ashka narrowed her eyes at Lexi. "_What _did you call me, _BLONDE_?"

"You know, I think we'll settle this battling thing later." Daniel intervened before Lexi could fight back. He then said, "Has anyone seen Gerard?"

"Yeah, where's your _boyfriend _Ashka?" Lexi said icily. Her words nipped and bit and Ashka.

"He's not my boyfriend." Ashka retorted. "And I don't know. He does what he wants." She did a very good job of hiding her nervousness.

"He knows that he can't leave town without me," Daniel said, shaking his head at Gerard's situation. "I didn't catch him last night either for bedroom check. I'm thinking of sending a trackingbot after him if he doesn't show up by this afternoon."

"He'll show up!" Ashka said determinedly. While everyone was focusing back on their food, she looked down to her PokéGear and typed rapidly. She sent a text.

_Hey, where r u?_

* * *

><p><strong>Irene Connor <strong>_Heading down the golden brick road to Mauville city! :3  
><em>4 people like this

**Lexi Redstone **Ooh I love that movie. It's such a classic.

**Irene Connor **All the ancient stuff is good. Today's movies are such crap. They're running out of ideas  
>2 people agree<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Hey Irene, I need to borrow your solar charger. I lost mine.

**Sherry Brogan **Check your pants ;P  
>2 people dislike this and think Sherry is a total random creeper<p>

**Irene Connor **...Eww.

**Jun Kirman **I have it! Sorry Lucas. I wanted to show Zane how it worked.

**Lucas Taylor **You don't have one?

**Jun Kirman **Nope, I have the one you plug into the wall.

**Lexi Redstone **Wow, that's so old school  
>2 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Those things still exist?

**Sherry Brogan **You're such a grandpa Jun. It's like browsing for shopping.

**Irene Connor **Hey! I still do that!

**Sherry Brogan **You're totally wasting your time. You should express shop.

**Lexi Redstone **I tried doing that, but the clothes move too fast.

**Sherry Brogan **It's a skill to catch good items.

**Lucas Taylor **SNORE shopping bores me.

**Jun Kirman **But we went skin shopping last night Q.Q (clarify: _phone_-skin)

**Lucas Taylor **Yea...still bored me.  
>2 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>A young man, lost in a sooty area of woods. He had brown, spiky hair and brilliant green eyes. His blue sweater was crumpled, matted with dirt, and had a hole somewhere near the chest. Goggles rested on his neck, just sitting there for no purpose. The young man was currently walking around, gazing around with a wonder of where to go.<p>

He past Numels, Skittys, and Taillows. As he walked past, he noticed the clanking of capsule-like items colliding together, clipped to his belt. He had six of them. Curiously, he pulled one off its magnetic clips and inspected it. It was the size of a cherry, with a tiny little button on the front. The item was had two halves, the bottom half white and the top half green with blue spots.

The capsule expanded when he touched the button in the center, and in surprise he dropped it on the dirt path. It rolled away and became wedged between rocks. He went to retrieve it, but a Skitty popped out of the bushes and took the capsule in its mouth, then scurried away. The young man stared after it.

Was that item important?

He felt that it was. Even though he didn't know what it was, he knew that the item was somehow linked to him. He ran after the wild pink cat with the umbrella tail, through the bushes and trees and darker trees and fallen logs. Past a narrow stream, over a hill, and down a thicket of pecha berries. It seemed he had lost the Skitty.

"_Pokéball retrieval system activated. Pokéball RALTS located over fifty feet of homing clip. RECALCULATING." _A strange robotic voice was speaking to him. The young man felt into his pockets and found a rectangular, hand-held device. The screen was loading, searching for his lost pokéball. Finally, a grid opened on the screen and a white dot flashed somewhere five boxes away.

Now the white dot was moving again, but this time towards him.

The young man prepared himself for the Skitty, ready to chase it to the ends of the Earth for that important capsule.

Instead of a Skitty, a person came from the trees. Well, a woman. A blonde woman with her hair bunched into a bun, although some hairs escaped and fell down her back. She had acrylic, dark green eyes and an expression of blankness. She looked to only be a few years older than he. In her fingerless-gloved hand was the blue-and-green pokéball.

"Is this yours?" She asked in a very soft voice, one hard to hear from his distance. She had a sort of Orrean accent, much distinguished by the way she abruptly ended her words. He walked closer, but with every step he took he noticed that she became more and more uncomfortable. It was like she was broken and trying to hold everything together in her arms. Her arms, which were bruised and spotted with various colors. Too skinny, like she hadn't been eating enough. He stopped four foot steps away and accepted the pokéball.

She looked beyond him, up at the sky where the clouds were gray.

"There is a storm coming." She whispered. "Come, I will return you to town."

"Where's that?" He asked. His eyes were dull, naïve, and just as blank as hers.

"Lavaridge town." She said like she was offering him table scraps. "Is that not where you came from? Or are you heading there?"

"I don't know." The young man shrugged.

"Here, let me see your trainer card." She said, softly taking his PokéGear. She looked at him strangely, as it was not normal that travelers didn't know where they were going. Usually they had some gist to where they were heading. Her capture styler synchronized with his PokéGear, and all of his information came up. His name, age, gender, hometown, and emergency contacts. "What is your name?" She asked, testing to see if he hadn't stolen this device.

"...I don't know..." The young man answered bashfully. He absently plucked his goggles, his memory only recalling waking up in that forest.

The woman looked at the ID picture. Yes, the two were the same people.

"So you do not know who you are?" She asked, receiving a head shake in response. "And this is not a trick?"

"No ma'am." He said, shamefully facing the ground.

"Follow me. We will sit in my cabin until the storm is gone, and then we will head to town to figure out who you are." She said, heading down the path, the young man following behind. "I am sure there is someone in Lavaridge who knows a Gerard."

* * *

><p>The pokémon gym was located in the center of the town through a bridge that was decorated with a sort of spider-web-design for a cover. It was much like an open-stadium building with a flaming pokéball logo above the archways to the doors.<p>

Daniel stopped his train of troopers at the clear double doors. The receptionist on the other side scurried off to go tell the gym leader they were here.

"Alright, have you all decided who's battling with who?" He said, looking at all the faces.

"But Gerard isn't here yet." Ashka said. She didn't know how long she could stall Daniel until Gerard finally showed up. It was so unlike him to wander off on his own without her.

"Too bad so sad. I guess since it's only four of you, the teaming up will be fair. Does everyone have their partners?" Daniel said. The four looked among each other, wincing at their choices. They all would rather fight alone. "So that's how it is, eh? Wow, everyone's so shy that I have to pick. Alright. Serena and James, and Lexi and Ashka. There."

"WHAT!" Ashka and Lexi both shrieked.

"That's a horrible combination!" Lexi whined.

"I refuse to work along with her." Ashka said, turning away. She crossed her arms.

Daniel sighed, not being the only one feeling the tension between the two. Serena and James though were already working on strategies.

"I guess you two will lose then." Daniel said with a shrug as he opened the door for them. The receptionist returned.

"Theo is ready for you! Report to the stadium!" She said, grinning at the challengers. "Also, these battles will be filmed for the gym challenges channel. Will that be a problem?"

"...Maybe.." Serena muttered, blushing a bit at the thought of other people watching her.

"I have to fix my hair then," Lexi said, brushing her fingers through her hair.

"I think I'll wear a blindfold so I won't see the red blinking light of the cameras." James decided.

"...That'll work..." Daniel muttered, smiling wistfully. As his campers went off to fix themselves for the cameras, he went ahead to the stadium, along with Ashka who didn't feel the need to fix her ponytail. They went through a dark hallway, past the locker rooms. It was like they were going to a football stadium.

After the final archway, they came upon a vastly large battlefield, mostly sand. Ashka dug her shoe into the sand, confirming that it was an alternating battlefield from the glass bottom. In the middle of the large field, a young man with flat black hair and glasses was playing chess with a Snivy on a holographic chessboard.

"...Why's he playing chess with his Snivy?" Ashka whispered strangely.

"The world is strange." Daniel answered uncertainly.

The man playing chess sensed their footsteps and turned his head. "Challengers! Welcome!" He yelled across the empty space between them. "Are you all set?"

"We are!" Daniel said. "My first campers to battle you are Serena and James!"

Serena, James, and Lexi came from another entrance at the side. Lexi went over to Ashka and Daniel while Serena and James met the gym leader in the middle. As the others went to get a seat at the bleachers, Theo folded up the chess board and put it in his pocket.

"Hello!" He said, eagerly shaking hands with an unsuspecting Serena and James. "My name's Theo! I was recently appointed Gym leader, so my pokémon aren't exactly specialized in types like the traditional gyms. Is that alright with you two?" The two nodded. "Cool! Well, the battlefield changes, but right now we've got it set to desert. I'll need you two to stand right here." He pointed at the ground and made a line in the sand with his feet.

James happily stepped onto the spot, already familiar with what would happen next from all the TV shows that have prepared him for this moment. Serena on the other hand was not as educated on the subject and was a bit confused to why she was standing on this particular spot.

Then, metal bars rose to their waistlines, surrounding them in a box-like fashion, closing them in. Serena instantly became terrified when the ground below them gave way and they were in the air, hovering. They were on a hover platform.

Theo joined them in the air, rising up to twenty feet. Serena was feeling sick and sitting on her knees, wishing to feel the ground again. James was messing with the controls, moving them left and right and up and down. Serena felt like she was on some twisted elevator ride and _might _just throw up.

"We use these so we can see the action better!" Theo explained. "Just press the 'home' button and it will go back to the home location for your platform. When you're ready, just use the walky-app!" His platform backed away onto his side of the battlefield. James pressed the home button, relieving Serena by touching the ground on their side of the field.

"We're ready!" James said into the speaker. Theo sent them a thumbs up _all _the way on the other side. The judgebot was set and began to voice the rules and such. Men in cameras were storming around the bleachers, making clanking noises above Daniel and the girls in the dugout.

"You two better prepare for your battle. Just because Theo's new doesn't mean he isn't tough." Daniel warned the girls on both sides of him. They refused to talk, refused to sit next to each other. Lexi was still offended that she was called a _blonde _negatively and Ashka was still seething at _village trash_. That meant everyone in her town, including Gerard!

"_THIS WILL BE ON 2-ON-2 DOUBLE BATTLE WITH NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER. BEGIN._" Said the judgebot.

"I am the king of this game!" Announced Theo through the speakers. In both hands, pokéballs were expanded. One white with red lining, the other black with orange streaks. "It's battle time!" With a quick spin he tossed the balls, releasing them into the air. Two white comets burst out of the balls, morphing into a Combusken on the left, and a Kingdra on the right. Combusken was darting side to side, sort of like a child with ADD. Kingdra was silent and focused with narrowed eyes.

"You take care of Kingdra." James said, getting ready his pokéball. It was dark green with light green lining. "Combusken is mine. Let's go! Triller!" With a meek toss, a Drilbur appeared on the field. It sat down and started making holes in the sand like it was playtime, much to James's annoyance.

"Seems like a plan." Serena agreed. "Snorunt, go!" With a gentle fling, an Eskimo-like pokémon appeared on the battlefield. Snorunt looked around on the search for flowers, completely oblivious to the pokémon in front of it. While walking it tripped and fell flat on its face.

"...Are you serious?" Theo muttered, analyzing his opponents. Both Drilbur and Snorunt looked like toddler pokémon. How could they possibly measure up to his Combusken and Kingdra?

Ashka's thoughts were agreeing with him. _They're toast out there. They should've moved aside and let us go first._

Seeing as no one was attacking yet, Theo commanded first, "Combusken use Blaze Kick on Snorunt!"

Combusken dashed forward, straight for Snorunt who hastily hopped up and began to pay attention to the battle. Combusken's feet were beginning to burst in flames, leaving a trail of fire.

"And Kingdra, follow it with Dragon Pulse!" Theo said. Kingdra stayed in place, held back its nose, and blasted a bright purple orb out of its schnoz, into the flames.

"It's our turn, gotta think gotta think!" James hollered, unable to think of a move. "Combusken's reaching us! ZOINKS IT'S FAST!"

"The key is to be calm." Serena said, pulling up her pokémon's moves on her PokéGear. "Snorunt, dodge Combusken!" Snorunt rolled out of the way just as Combusken kicked, but it twisted mid-spin and nailed Snorunt with the other foot, kicking it right into Drilbur. James winced, but before he could command the next move, Combusken went and kicked Kingdra's Dragon Pulse right at them. The orb slammed into the tiny pokémon, spewing them in separate directions of the field.

"Ooh. Rug burns." Daniel commented. "See, you kids have to analyze your opponent before you challenge them...You never know what surprises could come. In this case, those two are moving too slow."

"They're on offense now. You've got to give them a chance." Lexi said in a protesting fashion.

"Snorunt use Powder Snow!" Serena says. Snorunt takes a deep breath,

"Kingdra use Smoke Screen!" Theo commands directly after. Kingdra's chest puffs out, then black smog explodes out into the area, blocking out Snorunt's attack. James pounds on the platform's keyboard, plunging them upwards, practically knocking all the wind out of Serena's stomach. Now they could see above the smoke, but their pokémon couldn't.

"Combusken use Double Kick on Drilbur!" Theo commands. Combusken disappeared into the smoke.

"Triller, use Dig!" James retaliates quickly. Drilbur burrows into the ground much like a drill, leaving only a gaping hole in its wake.

"Kingdra, stay on your toes!" Theo said reassuringly to his pokémon, although James pointed out that Kingdra was a seahorse, therefore did not have feet.

Combusken came foot-first out of the smoke, heading right for the hole that Drilbur had made.

Serena saw an opening and swallowed her uneasiness from the height they were at. "Snorunt use Bite on Combusken!" Snorunt lunged forward and hooked its teeth to Combusken's leg.

"Combusken use Blaze Kick!" Theo said quickly, his platform up to the max height. Combusken jerked its leg around, trying to shake off Snorunt, then its foot burst into flames. Snorunt became consumed in the flames. Combusken finally kicked Snorunt off, unfortunately right into the hole Drilbur made.

Kingdra looked around, sensing a rumbling even when it was just floating above ground. The ground cracked below it, and suddenly, Drilbur emerged and attacked it! Kingdra slammed into the ground from losing balance, and Drilbur chased after it and used Slash.

"Kingdra use Ice Beam!" Kingdra turned on its side and shot Drilbur with a pure white beam. Drilbur staggered, feeling as if it was just stabbed by air knives.

"Triller use Sandstorm!" James said. Drilbur's claws released gusts of sand that turned into tornados, twirling about the battlefield and dissipating the smoke. Combusken was hit and thrown towards Snorunt,

"Snorunt use Double Team!" Serena said. Combusken was surrounded by almost twenty doppelgangers, and it wasn't sure which one to hit!

"I'm sorry, but this is going too fast. I'm lost." Lexi said with a sigh as she leant back, opposed to her on-the-edge seat previously.

"It'll be even worse when I'm up there." Ashka muttered.

"You mean _us_?"

"...Right." Ashka said.

Daniel grinned. "See, you two are already making up and being nice! See!" He ignored their scowls and returned to the battle. All the Snorunts were lunging for Combusken, going in for Bite. Drilbur was successfully hitting Kingdra with Slash again, until it used Hydro Pump and blasted it across the field to where Snorunt and Combusken were. The real Snorunt clasped onto Combusken's head, making it claw at it.

James found another opening, seeing as Kingdra was too far away to aid Combusken. "Triller, Swords Dance to Slash on Combusken!"

Serena caught on to what he was doing. "Snorunt don't let go!" She shrieked across the dust storm. Snorunt bit harder, causing Combusken to go mad with the brain pressure. Nearby, Drilbur's claws began to shimmer a bright blue.

"Kingdra use Ice Beam!" Theo said quickly. He was hoping the beam would reach them. But while the seahorse was preparing the attack, Drilbur was dashing forward with its claws ready to slice. Snorunt jumped off Combusken's head, relieving it for a moment, and then Drilbur slashed it across the chest. As Theo had predicted, Kingdra's ice beam had faded half way through the field.

Combusken fell.

After scanning the fiery bird, the judgebot announced, "_Combusken is unable to battle._"

"Woo! Yeah! Good job guys!" Lexi cheered as she clapped as loud as she could. Honestly, her single clapping sounded really pathetic and only reminded everyone else that the stadium was pretty much empty.

Theo returned his pokémon back into its pokéball. He laughed lightly. "This isn't over. Kingdra, we're going all out!"

James and Serena swapped glances and smirks. Sorry Theo, but this duo is ready.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_**Serena Valliya **__and __**James Lopreo**__, congrats on your close win against the Lavaridge town gym leader!  
><em>3 people like this, Sherry Brogan dislikes this

**Lucas Taylor **You're too nice dude

**Serena Valliya **You saw it? Thank you Jun

**Jun Kirman **Yeah! It was on the gym challenges channel. Lucas was streaming and saw your name on the schedule list.

**Lucas Taylor **It was really Lexi's name that caught my eye ;D

**Serena Valliya **You're such a flirt. You should just confess that you love her already

**Lucas Taylor **Good luck w/that, love is for the weak

**Jun Kirman **So why did you choose Snorunt to go against Theo? He had a Combusken. It wouldn't really be my first choice

**Serena Valliya **Idk. I wasn't thinking straight. I thought an ice-type would fair well against a dragon-type.

**James Lopreo **I had calculated our chances of winning during the battle. I told you not to worry! Triller was amazing.

**Serena Valliya **Uh huh

**Jun Kirman **So are the badges shiny?

**Serena Valliya **We're getting them later. I'll take a picture :P

**Jun Kirman **Yay :)

* * *

><p>Ashka was the only one on the platform when the field was finally cleaned up and ready to go again. Lexi was back in the bathroom fixing her face, so she missed seeing a few people enter the gym stands and the field changing to a prairie landscape. It was much like a hill, tilting to the left side of the bleachers. Theo was taking a bathroom break and James went to go get some snacks.<p>

Lexi had returned refreshed and ready to go. Still perky and chipper, opposite to how Ashka was feeling. Ashka was gloomy and pissed that Gerard wasn't here to watch her very first gym battle. She sure as heck would watch him! Where was he? She wouldn't give up on him, but she had too much pride to apologize first. She wanted a _real_ explanation to that "alien" gun.

"Let's win!" Lexi said when she stepped on the platform.

"Hmph." Ashka turned away and lent over the side, wanting to be as far away from her as possible. Her happy aura was irritating.

Lexi shrugged off the cold shoulder. Everything was behind her because now, it was _her _turn on the stage. When Theo was on his own platform, both their platforms rose halfway into the stadium height.

"Oh wow, I never knew how different it felt to be in the driver's seat..." She muttered, gulping at the height they were at. Her stomach was twisting when she got the full view of the field. How the hell did Serena and James's tiny pokémon win on this thing?

Ashka nodded slowly in agreement. She too had noticed the change when it came to regular fields, seeing as they weren't this big. But the nervousness had faded away. She found that Lexi absorbed nervousness like a sponge, being jittery enough for the two of them. She found strength to pull them along.

The judgebot was activated via remote. "_THIS WILL BE ON 2-ON-2 DOUBLE BATTLE WITH NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER. BEGIN._" Same automated, monotone message.

"Here, I'll show my cards first!" Theo announced on his side. "It's battle time!" With two confident throws, a Snivy and Braviary appeared on the field. The reptile was cool and silent, standing like a rock. It reminded Daniel of Ashka. Braviary on the other hand was staring at its opponent with a strange fury you wouldn't normally see in domesticated pokémon.

"Mr. Daniel, I'm getting a storm warning text. What's a magnetic storm?" Serena asked, sitting between he and James.

"It's nothing to worry about Serena. It's never hit Hoenn before. It's probably just something you received from Unova." Daniel said reassuringly. She bit her lip, knowing exactly that he was wrong. The app didn't send messages through your hometown, it sent it through GPS pinpointing.

"So what's the plan?" Lexi asked as Ashka shuffled through her pokéballs for the right one.

"We kick ass of course." Ashka answered obviously. She pulled the pokéball off her belt, expanded it, and tossed it into the air. "Charizard battle stage!" Her large red dragon plopped onto the field, nearly losing balance from the tilted angle its feet met. Lexi recalled the pokémon from when James was driving the hovercraft and it was flying ahead for surveillance.

_She went with a fire type, so I should go with an electric type. _Lexi deduced in her head. She pitched a pokéball into the air, and it soared over Charizard's head, and while in the air, she shouted, "Porygon-Z! Let's dance!" A strange blue-red duck with its head not attached to its body appeared from its capsule.

"Hmm...I see how we're playing now." Theo laughed lightly, hiding his smirk behind his hand. "I enjoy seeing different kinds of pokémon from Unovans. Interesting choices ladies. However, that doesn't mean that you've alluded my strategies. Snivy, use Hidden Power! Braviary get up into the air!"

"Charizard fly around hidden power and use Flamethrower on Snivy!" Ashka commanded.

Lexi looked nervously between Ashka and the battlefield. So then what should she do? Braviary was up in the air, far too high for any of Porygon-Z's moves to reach. "Ice beam on Snivy!" She said to her pokémon through the speakers.

"Wait, you're going to mix up our attacks!" Ashka said, twisting to face Lexi.

"No I'm not, just watch!" Lexi said hopefully, pointing back to the battle. Snivy was then just releasing bright orbs towards Porygon-Z, leaving a glittery trail of ice particles while doing so. Charizard was flying over to Snivy to attack when Braviary swooped down, grabbing parts of the hill with Rock Slide, and shoving it at Charizard. Charizard was knocked out of the air and began rolling like a stone downhill. Porygon-Z was caught up in the confusion, unsure which target to hit. It's eye twitch was becoming unbearable. Oh, which one to hit!

"Snivy use Giga Drain on Porygon-Z, and Braviary use Rock Slide on Charizard again!" Theo commanded.

"Now Porygon-Z! Ice beam!" Lexi shouted. Porygon-Z was confused last time, but this time it has to hit!

"Charizard get high into the air, and Flamethrower on Braviary!" Ashka commanded. She didn't like how the tables were turn, Snivy was her primary target. Braviary seemed like one tough cookie to bring down.

Snivy put one hand out, aimed at Porygon-Z. Glowing globs began to stream out of it, straight back to Snivy. Porygon-Z's arms began to spin and then, a bright white beam screeched out of its bill and detonated on Snivy! Snivy rolled downhill, and Charizard was up in the air with Braviary coming closer. It opened its jaws and released a fiery hell, burning the tips of the American-themed bird. Braviary beat its wings to escape, yet the embers remained.

An ear-splitting high-pitched squealing stopped everyone in their heart-racing tracks. The judgebot, the waiterbots, everything paused. Their screens, usually where the emote and menu's were displayed, were now colored bars.

"What's going on!" Serena yelled, covering her ears and wincing as the others were doing.

"It's a PA!" Daniel said.

"Public announcement!" James translated, although everyone knew what it meant. All the bots in the area clustered together, dropping whatever functions they were doing currently. The screens all conjoined together.

_WARNING. WARNING. _Flashed on the screen.

The screeching now faded and the local news was now on the screen. "_I apologize for interrupting your daily activities, but our weather reports have very important news for people currently in these towns: Verdanturf, Lavaridge, Mauville, and Slateport city. Please stick around for our emergency broadcast."_

"It's a mass message." Daniel whispered. "Every robot in Hoenn must be frozen with this telecasting."

"_A storm warning is now in issue. At 01:02 am, we were getting readings of the magnetic field becoming disrupted. For reasons unknown, a Magnetic Storm will be passing by. These storms are very rare in Hoenn, as we are not as electronically clustered like our neighboring nations, Unova and Sohjay. Magnetic Storms carry radiation that will destroy wifi and many electronic items nearby. We are advising that everyone please wrap up their electronics in rubber foil, rubber coverings, or stay underground as the storm is in effect to preserve your gizmos. This includes pokéballs and metal pokémon. All robots will be recalled until the storm has passed. This has been an emergency message distributed by the local Verdanturf news, thank you._"

All the bots then returned to their primary screen, and returned to their programmed functions. Ashka and Lexi's face fell in mortification. They knew of Magnetic storms, and had been through drills yearly in their schools. From the mass of electronic radiation in their cities, these storms occur frequently and they're familiar with it. No wifi, no power.

"Damn mag-storms are ruining my life..." Lexi muttered as the hover platforms lowered.

"So I guess this battle is over." Ashka muttered as she stepped off the platform. Theo hovered over on his platform, knocking into several 'bots on the way.

"Unfortunate mishap, guys." He said with a sigh as he arrived. "Without the judgebot functioning, we can't battle."

"You could always have a human judge!" Daniel suggested from the dugout.

Theo shook his head. "Who still knows how to do that? They don't teach you that in school. But hey, we can always continue this after the storm."

"I guess we could do that." Ashka agreed. Lexi nodded reluctantly. She just really wanted to finish this battle right here and there.

"Let's go kids!" Daniel said as he climbed out of the dugout, James and Serena following, "Time to prepare for the storm!"

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_To heck with the mag storm! I'm not burying my babies!_

**Lucas Taylor **Bleep bleep bloop to that one man. Neither will I  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **Remember that storm of '08? Even the rubber couldn't deflect those rays. Everyone's 'Gears crashed and we all had to replace the stuff because of the blue screen of death.

**Jun Kirman **I really think you should listen to Lexi Lucas. Without your 'Gear you're pretty much a zombie  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **...

**James Lopreo **I'm going to invent something one day to protect us from these mag storms.

**Lucas Taylor **Good luck w/that

**Ashka Storme **Has anyone seen Gerard?

**Lucas Taylor **...Random  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **See, I told you the village kids go on Facebook.

**Lucas Taylor **Not as much as we do

**Ashka Storme **Someone answer my question

**James Lopreo **Sorry, I haven't seen him.

**Lucas Taylor **I have to admit, Gerard just earned some street cred

**Lexi Redstone **You're not helping -.-

* * *

><p><strong>Hola! Sorry for the later update. Blame all the work that still needs to be done -.- but thats no excuse! Heh. So, this is where we are now huh Eastward? Freak fantasy storms? :P Also that lady that Gerard met. She's important. Watch for her!<strong>

**Also, pictures of Lucas and Jun are now finished and can be found on my profile. That picture that Serena mentioned (with the badges) I'm planning on doing soon. Expect it! (hopefully)**

**Thank you for sticking around this long and reading! Thanks to all reviewers too! You guys keep me writing :P**

**P.S. All errors and editing will be done soon. (precisly, after I get home from school)**


	12. The Storm, Part 2 of 2

**Chapter Eleven - The Storm, Part 2 of 2  
><strong>_Pokemon Center basement, hours before the storm_

Daniel was the last to put away Pita's pokéball, his capture styler, and his emergency 'Gear into a black rubber container with a white-board cover. Pita was now riding and straining his shoulder, unable to sit in her pokéball in case it suddenly overridden and damaged her from the oncoming storm. The two were in the tenth underground level of the pokémon center where the safes were for trainers' portable devices. Everyone was given a container to leave their stuff in, although some people had maybe two or three boxes instead of one to contain all their items. Daniel wrote his name in Expo marker on the box, and then added it to the pile where all of his campers' things were.

In emergencies like this, it was easy to see everyone's personalities—and how sneaky they were with carrying _extra _cargo.

In addition to the five pokéballs, 'Gear, chargers, and sustenance pack preservers sitting inside James's box, he also had a digital camera, e-reader, pokéball polisher, and a translating collar. Lexi had two very tiny iPods hidden underneath her chargers and pokéballs. Even Serena had brought an extra tablet to upload her camera pictures on.

He shook his head. When was it these days that mp3 and solar charger's were a survival necessity? He and Pita climbed the steps up to the lobby of the pokémon center, where as the elevator was turned off for storm reasons. When he reached the main area he found chaos, although it was expected with this generation of electronic-embedded teens.

The lobby was filled, every inch and corner with people and pokémon alike, all who were complaining that music was not blaring through their ears and they couldn't talk to people five towns over. The attendants of the 'Center were wrapping TV's and computers and other electronics in rubber tape, making the entire place look like it was a hurricane shelter.

"What are we gonna do now?" James whined. He was seated at the couches, having snagged a seat before the wave of other tenants washed in. He happily shared the seat with Lexi, who found it a little awkward to be squeezed into the seat with him. Serena was leaning against the wall and observing the world outside the window, looking for magnetic clouds. Ashka was next to her and just staring out the window too, waiting for Gerard.

"I don't know. Can't really play games without a mouse or touch pad." Lexi muttered as she absently petted her baby Deino. The baby reptile was very interested in chewing on James's shirt, and he didn't look like he minded one bit.

"There are plenty of things we can do." Daniel intervened into their conversation and sat on the low coffee table between the couches. "We can hunt...read...use our imaginations..."

Ashka scoffed at all of his options. "Imagination? What do we do that?"

Daniel looked back at her, grinning like he could see right through her. "Oh come on, I'm sure you guys have pretended to be princes or princesses once in your childhood. When you don't have an iPad to think for you, you make up your own games."

"Only street rats and poor kids do that." Lexi whined. "I'm not saying I'm rich or anything...but it's pretty hard NOT to find a free TV somewhere."

"You can program the robots to show old movies if you know the code." Serena added. The ghostly grin on her face implied that she had experience in this area.

"You want to know what kids did back then, a millennium ago when they didn't have computers to always think for them?" Daniel said, pushing Pita off his lap when she tried to climb aboard, "They played games that they made up. You know an old one? Hide and seek."

"...You want us to play..._Hide _and _seek_?" Ashka clarified with eyebrows raised in horror.

"This game sounds complicated..." James muttered as he rubbed his chin.

"What's more to the objective of this game, other than seeking?" Lexi asked.

It was too hard for Daniel not to laugh. "Not everything has to be complicated. Basically, we all try and hide, and whoever is last to be found wins. Usually those are the creative people who fit themselves under the sink."

"Not interested." Ashka said.

"Anything else?" Serena asked. She was now around her pokémon, interested in picking off the stray crumbs she found in their coats.

"Plenty," Daniel grinned. "But most of the games I'm thinking of can only be played in the dark. We can probably do that when the lights cut off."

"Shouldn't be long before that..." Lexi muttered. "When did they say the storm would reach us? Tonight at 6?"

"Yep, cause its over Verdanturf right now." James said. "So Mr. Daniel, what else did kids in the millennium before us do?"

Daniel paused for a moment and stared at Pita, wondering what they could do for the next few hours before the sun started going down. He was starting to miss when there were holographic games to play, like holographic monopoly. "I've got an idea..." He muttered. When he thought about it, he couldn't stop grinning. "But we're going to get dirty if we play it..."

* * *

><p>Coming back from the festivities of ice cream pilfering in the cafeteria, Lexi was now strolling back to the lobby to ask for a manual key to her rented room since all the sensor locks were being shut down and wrapped. She was just going to sit in the room with her pokémon until Daniel came up with something else to do. She certainly didn't want her pokémon just sitting around the pokémon center to be nabbed.<p>

"Hey, do you guys have some extra tape I could borrow? For some reason we're all out and the store is completely empty. We have all these TV's and robots we have to wrap up..."

She found Theo, the gym leader, talking to one of the front desk ladies.

It felt weird seeing him again. I guess she just assumed that he stayed in the gym 24/7.

"Hi Lexi!" Theo noticed her as he received the extra packets of rubber tape.

"You...you remember me?"

"Course I do!" He grinned. She didn't think he would, since he had so many challengers a day. Trying to put names to faces could be difficult. "You and Ashka were the toughest chicks I've faced all day! Plus...It's hard to forget a pretty face."" He ducked his head to hide his blush.

She blushed bashfully. How old was he, twenty? This felt a little molester-ish. "So umm...do you need help over at the gym? I'm kinda bored here, nothing to do...with the storm and all..."

"You want to help? Sweet!" Theo grinned and brought his head back up. "We have this whole hall of portraits that I need to hurry and tape up with rubber plastic bags before the storm comes. Would you like to assist?"

"Sure!" Lexi nodded enthusiastically. Every gym had a hall of portraits of past gym leaders, and she had always wanted to see the ones in Hoenn. In Unova, she'd been through the bug-type gym in Castelia and looked through all the pictures and holographic albums. Her favorite was Burgh with the clown-striped pants. Why did people a millennium ago wear such weird, ugly, and out-of-style clothes?

After dropping off her pokémon in her room and giving Daniel a heads up to her whereabouts, Lexi followed Theo to the pokémon gym. The walk was awkward and just a bit different because the moving sidewalks had been turned off and were covered and there was an obvious absence of robots and floating ads. The streetlights did not project pop up ads for de-aging skin cream anymore!

The two entered the Gym a few minutes later. The flat screens embedded into the walls were being taped down and the emergency lights were on. Lexi could only imagine how worst it would get when the power was really out. Theo led her into a room behind the receptionist desk and down a long, winding hallway that seemed like it went around the entire stadium and back. It ended at two steel doors that only opened on voice command.

"Not everyone gets to see these except the Gym leaders." Theo admits as the doors opened elevator-style.

"...Why?" Lexi asked. That wasn't the routine in her hometown.

"A lot of these pictures were done old school...on _paper_ and stuff...Officials are afraid that the only record of our Gym leaders will be ruined." He said. The hallway was dark and Lexi was hesitant to step in. Would Theo lock her inside if she went? Maybe that was just that little voice inside of her talking.

"But you're a Gym leader." Lexi said, as if the title actually meant something more. "You can change the rules."

"Too much paperwork, too much voting, too much being shot down by the governor. I'm not that keen on politics, but that's what the job is besides battling. It's not as easy as handing out badges anymore." Theo said, and clapped for the lights to turn on. The way he spoke, it sounded like the job was turning out to be a burden. It was like there was more to the job than he was led on to before he was appointed. "Careful with the frames in the 2000's."

The whole room was lit brilliantly. Frames followed by frames lined the wall in three rows. The parts where the frames hung could move by touch just like a roulette wheel. Pictures of women and men, old and young, black and white, all photographed. Some of the most recent ones dating to almost three hundred years ago had video photos, meaning that a little video would play of the person in the frame. The next three hundred years of leaders had photos that, when you changed the angle of viewing, they moved too like baseball cards. Then, almost down the line of 600 years, the portraits were just plain. They didn't move, they didn't talk.

2383-2390, Hilliard Brown, Gym Leader. Specialty: Combusken.

2380-2383, Jamie Brown, Gym Leader. Specialty: Blaziken.

Further down the line, the photographs were still in color but not as vivid or crisp, and the hairstyles were even more uglier and old. Their clothes, so fascinating and bland, nothing like the present.

2110-2150, Rose Grubbs, Gym Leader. Specialty: Magmar.

2080-2110, Jacob Fidel, Gym Leader. Specialty: Rapidash.

So many years have passed, and it was a wonder to see how the world has changed. Every person took a picture with the same statue that stood in the center of town, one aged over thousands of years. In present times, it was weathered pretty bad and the town was thinking of renewing it. But if they did that, the memories would be lost. And the photo that Lexi was staring at now, the statue looked as good as new.

2001-2020, Flannery Asuna, Gym Leader. Specialty: Torkoal.

"When the end of Gym leader's term ends, does it mean they retired or that they died?" Lexi inquired curiously as Theo began sporadically wrapping the electronic frames and unplugging them.

He looked up in thought as he tied up the bag and taped it shut. "Hmm...I believe it's how long they served. Some retired, some quit, some passed the Gym down to their kids. Who knows."

Lexi shrugged and continued to look through the photos. Many of the people were so beautiful, and it felt weird to think of them as that when they're hundreds of years old. It was like calling her wrinkly mother pretty. Well, maybe it depended on how you saw people.

The lights started blinking.

"Crap, the lights are going out! Help me unplug the video frames! Those are the only ones we need to worry about!" Theo cried out. He started moving the top shelf of frames and unplugged all of the video frames. Lexi skidded down the corridor and hurriedly unplugged the frames. They dimmed from the lack of power, leaving only the default picture.

A thunderous roar echoed from the outside walls. This only made the two work faster, bundling frames into bags and taping them shut. Lexi was getting a bad feeling in her gut. And as she was expecting...everything shut down.

Without the familiar whirr of technology, everything felt empty. Silent.

"It's here." She whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>My 'gear and I will rough through this storm together.  
>5 people dislike this<p>

**Irene Connor **TURN IT OFF

**Sherry Brogan **TURN IT OFF ;(

**Jun Kirman **Come on man, turn it off.

**Nicholas Wolf **tune t off manz

**Imogen Yale **Come on, you can do without it.

**Lucas Taylor **...WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!

* * *

><p>The entire town was covered in an eerie green glow that, if you'd been watching too many old ghost movies, could've been identified as being haunted. The dark clouds above were black as night, or more accurately, smog. Green electricity sparked around it, and so the streets of the town were completely deserted.<p>

As the blanket of clouds past, streetlight bulbs shattered, one by one.

The covered moving sidewalks, every few feet something would blow and smoke would rise from an overloaded circuit.

Daniel was watching from the lobby of the pokémon center. It was dark, silent, and just a little cold. All of his campers were in the underground rooms playing regular old board games with other tenants of the 'Center. Every now and then a nurse or other employee would be running around with blankets, but it seemed a little extreme since it was summer and eighty degrees outside.

Outside, someone was running their way.

_He'd better hurry before he catches something. _Daniel thought as another loud thunder echoed throughout the walls of the 'center from outside. In almost an instant, what looked like drizzle started raining like elephants and hovercrafts. Because the doors weren't automatic anymore, the person ended up running right into the glass.

Daniel manually opened the door for the fellow ranger. At least, that's what he assumed with the uniform and badges.

"I'm looking for Daniel Bay, pokémon ranger!" The guy huffed as he shut the door from the rain. He looked like he just sat in a shower even though the rain only started a few seconds ago.

"Speaking to him." Daniel said, patting the guy's back comfortingly. "What'cha need?"

"Lavaridge station needs your help!" The guy said, quickly recovering. The motivated look in his eye gave Daniel the creeps. He continued, saying, "We need you to report to the station immediately!"

"It's torrenting out there." Daniel protested. "Besides, what can I do without my styler?" Pita, who was hanging around their feet area, nodded in agreement.

"It's urgent! Here, we'll take the underground route!" The ranger beckoned for Daniel and his Panpour to follow to the open back door behind the receptionists desk. They climbed down the basement stairwell, down the network of tunnels and rooms, and even past James and his Luxray on the way. Somehow he tagged along and started following. They reached the bottom level of the basement, level 20, where all the underground burrows were.

It was, of course, dark down here. James's Luxray then became very useful because it could shoot light beams out of its eyes, and it led the way. The tunnels were very wide, wide enough to hide most of the city. They past hundreds of people who just stared at them as if they were nuts for coming down here, even though they were down their themselves.

"So how come we're not allowed underground unless it's for emergencies?" James asked as they reached the ranger station basements. Daniel was now wishing they had an elevator as they began climbing steps.

"It's for emergencies only." Daniel said blankly.

"It also floods with lava sometimes." The other ranger admitted. James looked disturbed.

After a very, very long climb, they reached the ground level. The ranger opened the door for them, leading them into the lobby. Daniel looked outside, finding it still very wet and dark outside. A group of local rangers were clustered together beside the window and were staring albeit rudely at him.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah, I think that's him"

"Well we needed a Neanderthal to go out there"

"Yeah he'll have fun out there."

Daniel resisted laughing at them and passed by, quietly muttering, "A little louder guys, I don't think the sewage rats heard you..wait, you can hear just_ fine._"

Daniel entered the head ranger's office as the other ranger had told him to go while they were climbing the stairwell. The head ranger was a woman, looking very experienced and tough shelled. The name on her entirely rubber-taped desk said "Rori".

"Daniel Bay!" Rori said, coming around to shake hands with him. "I finally get to meet you! Hey!"

"Hey..." He replied, barely giving much to the hand shake. "Is this important? I have kids—err—teenagers I need to supervise, since I'm part of this trek program..."

"It'll be quick!" She promised. "I need you to do a side job in this storm."

"...You're insane." He whispered. Wait, he wanted to take that back. She might tell his supervisor and get him demoted again.

"What's insane is that no one is willing to go out there except you!" She said loudly. Her voice was making him wince. "There's a whole flock of Skarmory outside of town going ballistic! Wreaking havoc! If they get into town, they could cause serious damage! I need you to go out there!"

"You have better men then me around here." He muttered.

"I'm giving you a chance to improve your rank, ranger! You should be taking the challenge!" She said. "Here, I'll give you rope! And a whistle! Nifty little thing really, you just blow into it and it makes sound..—ooh! Much like that! Hehe, fun! Yes! Now go out there, tame those Skarmory." She tossed him rolled up rope, a thin pennywhistle, and then shoved him out of the room and locked the door.

_...That should've gone down more professionally. _Daniel thought as he stared at the whistle banging against his neck. James, his Luxray, and Pita were staring at him across the room.

"So, what are we doing?" James asked.

"...Apparently, Skarmory wrangling." Daniel said, worriedly looking out to the storm. They'd be fine, without any gadgets. But that was the problem. Was there really more than one way to calm a pokémon without a capture styler?

* * *

><p>Without a radar to locate the troubling pokémon, Daniel and his 'team' had to trust their instincts and follow the instructions given by Rori to find them. According to an underground radar reading that they were risking on relying on due to the storm, the Skarmory were just outside of the east gate. After that they would have to follow the sounds of wild bird caws.<p>

The two and pokémon gathered under the canopy of a huge tree once they reached the gates of town. With all the downpour coming down it was impossible to see, unless you had goggles of some kind. Every few seconds the sky would flash white as if God himself was taking photos of everyone. Green lightning was cracking onto the city streets, but the two were already far enough from that madness not to get caught in it.

Now that Daniel was focusing, he found it hard not to notice the intense fighting sounds that were coming from behind them. Indeed, it sounded like angry Skarmory chirps, except chirping implied a small bird and Skarmories were _nowhere_ near small. They were probably just as tall as him!

Daniel and James rotated to the other side of the tree. A few trees over there was a cliff (with railings), and they could make out the flutter of shiny silver wings and the sound of metal clanking against each other.

_Last time I tried to save the day, Gerard was almost mauled by an ape. _Daniel strategized in his head. _But James won't stay in one spot and I might need his Luxray. Dammit, this is why I need Megan nearby.._

"What's the plan?" James asked, hiding behind a tree closer to the cliff.

Daniel tried to recall Pita's moves. She knew Scald, Low Kick, Crunch, and Brine. If she tried to fight the flock at once, she would be pecked to death. If she tried to fight just one at a time, others would join in and peck her to death some more. All of his options were narrow and risky. And once the heart of the storm reached them, the magnetic fields would be at their peak, and the metal pokémon would just become more and more dangerous. It was a term that he had heard his father read in a medical journal;

Shadow pokémon.

In history, shadow pokémon were engineered in Orre and sold from there, much like illegal substances would be—on the black market. These pokémon were cold hearted, relentless machines that probably wouldn't react to what capture stylers use to tame pokémon. But Daniel wasn't working with shadow pokémon—just mentally ill ones. He wasn't sure which was worst.

"James, what are your Luxray's moves?" He asked quickly.

"Umm..." James paused, needing to think about it. "Renper's moves are...Discharge, umm...Crunch, Roar...oh yeah, and Charge Beam."

_Charge Beam—yeah, that could work! _Daniel beamed with the breakthrough. _That move would go straight through the rain so we don't have to worry about it going out of control!—I hope._

"I'll cause a distraction, and then when they're not looking start zapping the birds with Charge Beam." Daniel said, hurrying out of the area with Pita. They slid down the hill, out of sight, and hid behind a part of the land that just hung over like a statuesque ocean wave. James and his Luxray hid behind the rail and peered over the top at the birds; they were clawing and scratching at each other, ripping feathers and metal scales. It was bloodshed in midair and nowhere near pretty.

Daniel readied the thick pokémon-designed rope that automatically hooked around like a snake would by clipping all of them to his belt loops. All were easily accessible, easy enough to whip out in case he was held by the throat. He whispered to Pita, "Now Pita, use Scald!" Pita looked back with a pout, but so she wouldn't disappoint her master she lunged into the scene. She was now in the midst of the birds but none were paying attention.

"POUUUUR!" Hot water spouted from the top of Pita's head, slamming directly into the flock of angry birds. The four of the six Skarmory turned away and analyzed Pita for a second. The biggest Skarmory cried out in anger, and then, threw a white orb that grabbed winds and rain at the blue monkey.

"Pita dodge!" Daniel cried, running out from his hiding place. Pita jumped out of the way but the spot that she escaped nearly exploded, lifting up dirt and grass. The Skarmory's swooped down and pecked at her madly. "James, now!" Daniel yelled. The remaining two Skarmories started coming at him with wings glimmering silver—

"Renper use Charge Beam!" A bright yellow beam consumed the two Skarmory, and watching them get hit from behind so close was so sickening to Daniel. As the birds fell he snapped the rope over each, securing them tightly. He quickly left them for Pita who was trying to defend herself with Low Kick. Daniel pushed through the Skarmory, trying to reach Pita, but they formed an unbreakable wall and one even pecked his shoulder. He frowned and ran up the hill, back to where James was.

James stared at Daniel as if he was nuts as he climbed over the railing. "Mr. Daniel, what are you doing!"

"Saving Pita!" Daniel yelled. He took one big gulp, then jumped off the cliff! He landed on a Skarmory and wrestled its neck as it turned its head and tried to nip at him. He dodged the metal beak and held onto its metal neck for his life. Pita had enough of the Skarmories, of the rain, of everything! She spat a boiling hot scald in the face of the Skarmory Daniel was riding.

"Skar!" The metal bird screeched.

"Yow! You hit me Pita!" Daniel seethed as he fanned his burnt hand.

"Renper use Charge Beam again!" James called as the Skarmories began to encircle Daniel. The Skarmories dodged the yellow beam that ripped past them. Daniel blew on his hand again and took rope from his belt loop, and snapped it around the Skarmory, locking in its wings!

Daniel's eyes widened. _Oh crap._

He and Skarmory landed on the ground, the impact throwing Daniel off its back. He coughed and rubbed at the scratches, using the rain to watch off the dirt. There were still so many insane birds left, and he was already out of steam. He kept patting his pocket for his capture styler, but it obviously wasn't there.

"The Skarmories are getting out!" James cried, pointing at the birds tied already. One of the Skarmories wings started to shine, and then, _clink!_ the metal ropes broke apart, and the Skarmory was free. Daniel cursed and retrieved another rope but the one Skarmory that had escaped was smart, and snatched all the rope on Daniel's belt,

And swallowed it.

"Oh come on!" Daniel groaned and ran up the hill again, Pita following. "James, make that thing use Discharge and save our skins!"

"Pokémon are not _things_!" James yelled angrily. It was his one pet peeve, and he was livid that even a pokémon ranger would disrespect them like that!

"Just go it already!"

"Fine! Renper get down there and use Discharge!" James said. The Luxray dashed down the hill and roared at the Skarmory. They all stopped their fighting with each other, narrowed their eyes at it, and soared over it. Luxray's eyes darkened and it crouched...

"LUX!" Lightning exploded like gunpowder and struck through the metal Skarmories. They fell like stones when the attack faded away.

Daniel sighed and gave Pita a head pat. She smiled in return. "Survived this one Pita..." He whispered.

"...It's not over..." James said in disbelief. Daniel's head flashed to the ground below where the birds formed a ring of corpses around Luxray. And one by one, they shook back to life, eyes snapping open. They all rose at once, screeching their names so loud that the rain looked like it was moving from the sound waves.

Daniel slid back down the hill and fought through the Skarmories to protect James's pokémon. "Back bird, back!" He yelled, but they continued to peck his arms and head. It was like being stabbed by the sharp edge of a butter knife, and he kept taking it like a shield.

"Mr. Daniel, look!" James pointed upwards, but it was dark out and the magnetic clouds were overhead and he couldn't see a thing. From whatever light was left, he saw a figure, a thin figure with thin fray hairs blowing in the breeze. The figure's utility belt had two neon glow sticks on the sides.

_...Megan? _The blood loss from all the pecking must've gotten Daniel hallucinating. He was starting to see Megan again, but he knew she was nowhere near him.

The figure jumped onto the ground and the next second it was behind Daniel, and he had to blink. It took the a neon rod, slapped it across the birds faces, and tossed it over their heads. They followed it in fascination, and the person took another item out of their utility belt. In one fast motion there was a blinking light, and then it turned into a disk, and it flew out of the figure's hand and toward the Skarmories.

It turned into a net and fell on top of the birds. It automatically staked into the ground so they were unable to escape, and when they tried to bite their way out, they were unable. The wire was pokémon proof.

"...Amazing." Daniel muttered.

The figure turned around, facing him. The neon rod remaining on its belt illuminated the space between them.

It was a woman. Blonde hair, dark acrylic green eyes. Even though she wasn't touched at all by the Skarmories, she was still dotted with bruises and scrapes. He recognized her uniform as a freelance Hoenn ranger. He wore the exact same uniform when he was a freelancer.

She took another thing from her belt and gave it to him. It was a roll up bandage.

"...Thanks." He said.

"No problem." She answered softly. She looked back to the birds who had stopped struggling. They were all very fascinated with the neon rod that lured them in. It glowed a pretty pink color.

"I'm Daniel Bay." He said.

She nodded. "My name is Ross." The way she spoke, he knew she had an accent. He just couldn't figure out where from. "Here, take this too..." She took another thing off the loop of her belt and opened it.

An umbrella.

As he stared as she placed it in his fist and showed him the proper way to hold it up.

"I will take care of the Skarmory." She whispered. Daniel held up the umbrella, just watching in confusion. She didn't use a capture styler. She didn't use anything electronic, or it would've blown a fuse in this storm. And _how _was she so fast? Did she run track? She was definitely younger than him, he could tell. Even though she saved him with stealth and quick thinking, he saw the fear in her eyes. She didn't have as much experience as he did.

But she still had the job done faster.

"Mr. Daniel, who was that?" James called, still in the same place. His Luxray was back with him now.

"Just ask—" Daniel pointed to an empty spot. _What? _Where did she go? She left already with the Skarmory, no noise or struggle. The rain was becoming lighter to the point of drizzling and Daniel closed the umbrella. He stared at it.

Yes, all that was real. He had a souvenir to prove it.

* * *

><p>"Look at it, it's all gone." Lexi said sorrowfully from the dark pokémon center lobby, standing near Ashka who was at the couches. James was with Daniel, Gerard was missing, and God knows where Serena scurried off to. "Ashka, look at it all. The streetlights exploded, the sidewalks are smoking, and that vending machine is leaking sustenance packs! Ugh!"<p>

"Eh." Ashka shrugged and stared at the coffee table in front of her where the e-magazines usually were. Instead, a few candles were lit. She didn't even know these things still existed.

"_Eh_?" Lexi repeated in disgust. "You have no feelings about everything being ruined? Everything! Gone!"

"You're being dramatic." Ashka replied calmly. "You don't need moving sidewalks or sustenance pack vending machines...You've got the legs God gave you, and you've got trees too, with _real _food. And if I recall, those don't short circuit from a little storm."

Lexi looked down in shame. Ashka was right, she knew it. She felt embarrassed to be so attached to necessities that could be easily compromised. The front doors beside her burst open. Serena ran in completely drenched, head to toe, with even her leather pouch-shirt dripping. She smelled familiarly of wet dog.

"Oh God, Serena where've you been? Taking a shower in the rain?" Lexi said, staring at the puddle Serena was creating.

"No...I was uh, looking for Gerard." Serena muttered, pushing the wet hair out of her face.

Ashka snapped her head around. "_Why _the hell would you do that?"

"Oh quit being an obsessive cow Ashka." Lexi muttered.

"I care about him too, Ashka." Serena said, ignoring Lexi's comment. "Sure, not in the _romantic _sense that you think I'm talking about. I care because I wanted to help you. It's obvious no one else wants to look for him." She shot a look at her and Lexi. Both looked to the floor, feeling a bit guilty.

Ashka sighed, her thoughts storming around. "Ugh, I don't know...I _wanted_ to look for him, but we had a fight...I thought he didn't want to be found. That's why he's hiding."

"I would too." Lexi muttered. Serena shot her a look, implying that it wasn't the time for comments right now.

"We're back! Back!" A voice yelled from the basement stairwell. James and his Luxray emerged from the door behind the receptionist desk, slightly wet and dripping. "Oh em GEE! That was so exhilarating! You guys shoulda been there! The Skarmories were all WE BAD MAMMA JAMMAS and Daniel was like TAKE THIS BISH and I was like RENPER USE CHARGE BEAM! YEAH!"

"...James, what are you rambling about now?" Lexi said, rubbing her temples from trying to decode all that.

"...I don't remember." James muttered, putting a finger on his chin. "Man, that chick who saved our butts should've saved me a Skarmory. I wanted one."

"Wait, where's Mr. Daniel?" Serena asked, noticing the absence of their guardian.

"He had to go back to the ranger station to tell them what happened to the Skarmory." James said. "...Hey, who are those insane people walking in the rain?"

Everyone looked over to the window-walls. Outside two people were walking...

"...Is that Gerard?" Lexi said, turning her head.

Ashka's eyes lit up and she stood from the arm chair. "That's him! Gerard!"

Serena and James held open the doors for the two figures entering the 'center. Even without the candles, Ashka knew it was him, from his still-slicked up spikes to the drenched blue sweater he was ringing out.

"Gerard!" Ashka exclaimed, louder than everyone else who had chorused with her. She ran up to him and gave him a big squeeze, ignoring the fact that he was as soaking wet as Serena. Everyone was crowding around him, asking him where he's been and why he left. The lady who had distanced herself just smiled at their touching reunion.

"Where've you been huh?" James asked, clapping a hand on Gerard's shoulder when Ashka pulled away from him.

"Yeah! You're an idiot Gerard. Stop standing in the storms to prove you're strong." Ashka teased, lightly pushing his shoulder.

Gerard gave them all blank stares. He didn't respond; he just accepted it.

"...Anything wrong?" Ashka asked, noticing his silence.

"Who's the lady?" Lexi muttered.

"Hello." The woman said, stepping back up. The teens stepped back when they saw her. "I am Ross...a freelance ranger. I found your friend outside of Lavaridge. I came to drop him off."

Ashka winced at her accent. Orre accents were just so annoying and click-y. "During the storm?"

"...Err, things have come up. I had to return him at once." Ross gave them a respectful bow. "I must go now. Goodbye." She left swiftly, like she didn't want to be around them because it was too painful. Or maybe she felt that she didn't belong.

"Gerard, what happened?" Ashka asked.

Gerard looked up. He looked around. "...Gerard." He said the name. It felt strange on his tongue. "...Is that what I'm to be called? Gerard? The nice lady called me that too."

Almost everyone froze in disbelief.

"Someone hit their head on the way back..." James muttered. Serena quickly slapped him.

* * *

><p>"You were <em>aided<em>?" Rori clarified.

"Yeah. By Ross. She's a freelance ranger." Daniel said with a nod.

He had returned to the pokémon station, and unexpectedly Rori was waiting right at the door with her foot tapping. He thought he was in trouble. Why else would she have been waiting there?

Rori was now trying to remember the freelance rangers that were stationed nearby.

"Hmm...Oh yeah, Ross. She really quiet. Has a bad back-story. I'll thank her later." She nodded to herself. "Now, the real news...you're familiar with the ranger Rodolfo?"

Daniel sighed at the name. "Yeah, I am..." _Unfortunately..._

"He got himself an FUI lately." She said, shaking her head at the misfortune. "Lately as in _thirty minutes ago_. Can you believe him? Flying under the influence, with KIDS IN THE CRAFT, _during a storm_!" Her voice was getting louder and louder. "He makes me so angry that I'd fire him!"

"Did you?" Daniel asked a bit too eagerly. Did she catch that? Or maybe he should be more worried that Rodolfo was caught flying a hovercraft in the middle of a magnetic storm, which could potentially damage the car mid-flight, drunk? And let's not forget that he had his campers in the car too.

"Can't, he's not in my division." Rori grumbled. "I can only suspend him. Which is what I did, in everything. He can't drive, he can't hold a pokémon, he can't hold a styler, and he definitely _cannot _continue herding those miscreants around Hoenn."

That meant that the kids were going home. "That's too bad for them." Daniel said sympathetically, caring more about the teens than Rodolfo. "I wish I could help."

"That's the go-getter attitude I'm looking for!" Rori exclaimed. "You _can _help. So when Rodolfo was arrested and his teens were brought here, the head of the agency you two work at called. He said, "Rori, split those kids onto other teams!"! And you know what, Daniel, you are perfect material!"

"...For which one?" Daniel said, regretting talking a few sentences before. He was hoping he didn't get one of the excited, annoying, or flirty ones. That sums up just all of them.

"All of them!" She grinned and opened the door to her office, where all four of Rodolfo's kids were sitting. They all looked up and stared at him, all expressions different but pretty much equal. One, horrified, one, excited, one, blank, and one, accepting.

Daniel closed his eyes for a second and tried to calm the storm more violent than the one outside.

_...This will not go well._

* * *

><p><strong>So I stayed up to finish this...you're welcome :P It was just...CLAWING AT ME! This was the most...actiony-drama-filled chapter I think has ever happened. Thank you for reviewing, and staying with me so far! It's only going to get worst from here...<strong>

**Thoughts? Tell me! :P**

**P.S. Sorry for the late update...All errors will be fixed by tomorrow.**


	13. Paradox

**Chapter Twelve - Paradox  
><strong>_Next morning, Pokemon Center Lavaridge Town_

A positive morning defined by the campers was waking up after nine in the morning and receiving breakfast in their rooms via robot. With the magnetic storm behind them, they were all ready to face the world with open arms. But the fact that the power still wasn't on just dampened most of their spirits.

In regards to Gerard and the strange way he was acting, everyone assumed he was fine. He was still quiet, sulky, and back in the background. He didn't intrude or interrupt, or flip out when he lost monopoly money like a certain someone last night. Ashka was concerned to his blank stares and how he lost the life in his eyes. It was like he was just watching the world in front of him unfold like television, and whenever he was brought back he just answered with a dull, "I don't know".

"Mr. Daniel sure isn't as strict on what we bring on the trip anymore." James stated as everyone rode the escalator (ran by a generator mind you) down to the storage levels. The entire town had already been cleared and now everyone can de-rubberize their items.

"It's just because he's going to leave you behind if your crap gets in the way." Ashka said, reaching the bottom first. She led Gerard to the crates and he followed absently.

"Well now that he knows what we have, I shouldn't be ashamed to wear my music." Lexi said as she opened her box. She grinned cheesily, slipped on her headphones, and jammed out away from everyone else. James watched and Serena snapped pictures, just to laugh at later.

"How did you and that ranger fare during the storm?" Ashka asked Gerard as she added all of her pokéballs onto her belt. She looked at Gerard who stared blankly at the ceiling. He was either mustering up his thoughts, or philosophically thinking of global warming on the grand scale. "...Gerard?"

His attention snapped back. Oh, yes, he was talking to one of the blue-eyed girls. Well, every girl that's been associating with him has blue eyes. "I...the lady put everything in a box...sat me next to a talking box...she had to leave for a few minutes. Then she came back and said that we were going into town."

_Talking box? _She looked at him strangely. _Why is he talking like that? I mean, last night...maybe he's playing games with me. _"Does the ranger still have your stuff?"

"I don't know." He said. That's all that she's been hearing, and she's irritated. If this was some mind-game, he sure was winning points.

"Guys, Mr. Daniel wants to talk to us." Lexi said, now reading off her 'Gear.

"How do you know?" Serena asked.

"He posted on our group page, "ALL OF MY TROOPS REPORT TO THE LOBBY IMMEDIATELY.""

"...I'm scared!" James wailed, and scurried up the _down _escalator. Everyone ignored his attempt to make them smile (which worked) and climbed to the lobby.

* * *

><p><strong>Daniel Bay <strong>_ALL OF MY TROOPS REPORT TO THE LOBBY IMMEDIATELY_

**Serena Valliya **...Are we in trouble?

**Ashka Storme **Who ratted out the maple syrup in his shoes

**Lexi Redstone **Umm...you just did.

**Lucas Taylor **Dang...he just sent out an APB for u guys

**James Lopreo **We're in trouble T_T  
>Lucas Taylor likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **...You're such a jackass Lucas. You cyberbully James so freakin' much. I'm tired of it. I wish you're PokéGear didn't survive

**Lucas Taylor **...

**James Lopreo **...Umm...Wow, thanks Lexi..

**Lexi Redstone **Ugh, I'm just so tired of him. Sorry.

**Lucas Taylor **Babe you can never get tired of me ;P

**Lexi Redstone **Screw it

**Lucas Taylor **So many things I can say to that X)

**Daniel Bay **Pay attention guys. I need you in the lobby.

**James Lopreo **I'm mad that you guys can have a whole facebook convo on an escalator.

* * *

><p>When returning from escalators with eyes forward, you do not expect these four very bizarre teens to re-enter your life...and now Lexi has tripped and fallen backwards, right on top of Serena who fell on top of Ashka who was actually steady enough not to fall all the way back down the escalator.<p>

"WHATS GOING ON!" Ashka shouted somewhat calmly as Lexi's boots scuffed the end of the escalator.

"Whatever you're hiding from us, we can take it." Serena reassured as Lexi shook her head ferociously. Once everyone met Daniel at the lounge section of the lobby, they all knew why Lexi had tried to turn them around. Everyone was having an eye-war with these "people", all except for Gerard who looked lost.

Sitting there with Daniel standing next to them was Rodolfo's teens, all with their hiking packs at their feet.

Everyone was having different reactions to this on the inside, but on the outside they were all smiley and calm. Daniel rose his eyebrow to this unexpected feat.

"Guys, you remember Rodolfo's group." He said, gesturing to the four on the couch. They were looking evil...The others said a polite hello and tried not to meet their eyes. James muttered something about creating a hate group against them later. Daniel continued, "So, bad news...or, good news...They'll be coming along with us for the next few weeks or so."

"...WHAT?" Ashka was the first to burst.

"No!" Lexi cried, "I mean, it's not that I don't like them—"

"You don't like us!" Sherry whined.

"I do!" Lexi quickly snapped, making Sherry pout. "It's just that there are already 5 of us, having 9 is too many!"

"Gerard seems to be pretty cool about it." Daniel pointed out.

"He's been acting pretty emotionless lately." Serena muttered.

"Well Rodolfo is having issues so he's handed them to us until further notice." He said, pretty much ending the argument.

"I read that he got an FUI." Ashka muttered. Others were commenting on seeing that too. The four on the couch were sharing disturbed looks from facing that horrific experience first-hand.

"So, let's get reacquainted, because I'm sure we haven't all figure out each other's names. Let's say our names, what we are in terms of specialty class and your class year, and share one tidbit that no one else in the room knows." Daniel said, gesturing for his five to sit down on the couch across from the other four. They sat hesitantly. It felt weird, like it was their first day of school again. "I'll start off." Daniel said, grinning at the little exercise he made up. "My name is Daniel Bay. I'm a pokémon ranger, been out of college for about two years now. One thing none of you know is that in high school, I was that quiet kid in the corner reading out of his e-book."

"Could've guessed." Ashka muttered.

"Nerd power!" James cheered, pumping up his fist. Daniel looked at him strangely.

"You, go next. Then James, you, Lexi, you, Serena, you, Ashka, and then Gerard. All good?" He pointed the "you's" as Rodolfo's team because he didn't know their names yet.

Sherry stood up excitedly and beamed. She seemed like an expert of public speaking. Her hair, was, of course, red and about shoulder length, and salon-style curled. She was sporting a white miniskirt, a pink quarter sleeve tunic with a highway-system graphic, white flip-flops, and thin white poké-belt with three pokéballs on it. "Hiya! My name is Sherry Brogan and I'm a coordinator in Senior class! One thing you guys don't know...my parents still think I'm a virgin." She giggled and sat back down, and Daniel clapped his hand over his face to stop the laughing.

"Umm...thanks for that Sherry. Next." He muttered under his hand.

"It's not like we didn't already know that..." Lexi muttered as James stood up.

He sweated under everyone's fixed gazes to him. He wiped the sweat off his brow and thought about what he'd say. His blue-striped polo and black jeans made him feel like he had a plain style compared to everyone else. "H-hello...I'm James Lopreo and I..." He sighed. He knew he wasn't that well under pressure like Sherry was. "I'm a senior...I'm in professor's class, so I don't go for badges or ribbons or medals...and...I'm a sustenance pack junkie."

"We all know that." Daniel interrupted when James tried to sit. "Share something else."

"Oh. Umm...Well, I'm trying to create a time machine..."

"...NEXT."

James sat down in relief as the next person stood up. It was a girl with pink hair in a side ponytail wearing a black and white button-up gingham shirt that exposed her belly button, low-cut jean shorts, and thick retro sneakers. "Howdy! My name is Imogen Yale. I have no specific trainer class because my pop owns a farm, so I'm pretty much homeschooled. I believe if I did go to a traditional school, I'd be a junior. One thing you all need to know is that I _don't _have a country accent! And don't call me country bumpkin!"

_Who'd use a term as old as that anyway? It's like calling minxes sluts or floozies. _Ashka thought as Imogen sat and Lexi stood.

Today, Lexi was wearing a green tie-dye halter top and khaki pants tucked into her brown boots. She smiled warmly at the crowd, even though some of the girls were giving her looks because she was so intimidatingly pretty. "My name is Lexi Redstone. I'm a senior, a trainer, and it takes me a lot of studying to match the grades of my genius brother." Her last sentence made her scowl. Some of the girls were visibly relieved that miss beauty queen didn't come with genius smarts too.

Next was the lavender haired boy who freaked out a bit comically to the lava in Fallarbor town that one time. He stood up, mostly muttering, "Uhh...". He was dressed in a tight blue shirt with a graphic of an empty thought bubble on it, tight skater boy pants, and tan shoes. "I'm Nicholas Wolfe...I'm a junior...In trainer class...And I uh..." He looked around. His thoughts were little but his feelings were exploding. "I kind of think every girl in this room is amazingly beautiful..."

"Aww..." Most of the girls in the room cooed as he blushed and sat back down. Daniel laughed and added a metaphorical "1" point to the scoreboard of Nicholas against the other guys. Next was Serena but she didn't want to get up, not after that guy.

"Serena, you're next." Daniel prodded. "You don't have to get that up and personal if you don't want to."

"...I will." Serena said shyly as she stood from her seat in between Lexi and Ashka. Today she wore a yellow-and-white striped tube top over her brown pouch-shirt and her classic white pants with weird blue ribbon-belt. She gulped and looked down at her shoes. Her ears were red from the attention. "My name is Serena Valliya and I'm a junior pokémon ranger. I um...travel a lot."

"What other regions have you seen?" Sherry inquired in interest.

"I already shared my one thing." Serena said back and sat. The others went "ooooh" as if Serena just dissed her or something.

The last girl from Rodolfo's team stood up and obnoxiously loudly popped the gum in her mouth. It made Ashka wince. She had short, blonde with green-streaked hair that was gelled into downward spikes. She wore a tight long-sleeved black dress that was ridiculously short. On top of that was a red cardigan and a necklace of two pokéballs. She wore four-inch heels on her feet, which would probably hurt her once they started walking.

Her gum popped loudly again. "Sup. My name is Amber Hendrix, and I'm a Pokéathlete in senior class. I light-sabered my name into the pencil monument in the capital."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that so I won't be questioned," Daniel muttered as Amber sat and hissed at his comment. "Ashka, your turn."

"Can't you just skip me?" Ashka whined, although her whines sounded more like requests.

"Nope. Everyone else shared, and now it's your turn."

"Fine..." She muttered and stood. She wore her black hoodie unzipped and a red tank top under that. "My name is Ashka Storme, I'm a senior trainer, and...that's all I want to share."

"Aww come on, tell us something we don't know." Lexi whined, wearing a teasing smile.

Ashka's fists balled but she stuffed them into her pockets to prevent using them. "Fine, here's something. I can't _stand_ you."

Laughter from the others fluttered through Lexi's ears and the red on her face proved that she didn't take that well. She stood up, even though it was Gerard's turn to share. "Oh yeah? Well try being friends with you for a day! You suck the life out of everything you touch, and Gerard's proof!"

Ashka's eyes were like death lasers. How dare she pull that card. Ashka stood up and raised her fist, unable to contain the rage anymore. Before she could land a hit from Lexi's waiting face, Serena quickly took her arm and _flipped _her onto the floor. Daniel stood up and stood between Ashka and Serena before something else broke out.

"What is going on guys? Come on, we're supposed to be learning about each other!" Daniel said.

"All I learned is that Lexi's a chump and Serena's her slave!" Ashka snarled, rubbing her head from where it hit the floor.

"Guys, we shouldn't fight..." James muttered, feeling small in this.

"You guys just got a hell lot interesting." Amber muttered with a glint in her eyes.

"Lexi, you just gonna take that?" Sherry said, egging them on.

"Stop the madness..." Serena hissed, clawing her fingers into her hair.

"Ashka, whatever feud you're having with Lexi, it needs to stop!" Daniel shouted.

Lexi was behind Daniel, trying to force her way out of his grip. "Why do you need to fight me Ashka? Everyone likes me! I don't see why you don't!"

Ashka hopped off the ground. That's what set her off, more off than she was already. "Yes, because _EVERYONE _likes you! Everyone adores you, you and your pretty face and your slim figure! Little miss perfect!"

"I'm not perfect!" Lexi shouted, trying even harder to move Daniel out of the way, but he was acting like a statue, trying to stop the two from touching. Serena was nearly tearing up, absorbing all the anger and feeling it seep into her core. Somewhere that shouldn't be touched.

"Yeah you are, you're PERFECT!" Ashka yelled. Some of the people that were hanging around the 'center were looking up in interest, and some of the nurses were shushing them. "Everywhere you go, you turn heads! Everyone wants to be your friend! You don't know what it's like to be different!"

"Oh, you mean UGLY?" Lexi snapped back.

Ashka screamed loudly and plowed forward, even with Daniel in the way.

Serena couldn't take it anymore. Her blue hands, contained in her hair, now flew up as high as she could reach. "STOP!" She screamed over the egging, the shouting, the chanting. Suddenly a white aura exploded off of her, consuming everything, leaving a frozen Iceland. People, frosted, technology, frozen. Her eyes widened as much as everyone else's had.

Everyone stopped staring at Lexi and Ashka...

And started staring at Serena.

"…Oh my God…" Lexi whispered in fascination. She and everyone else in the room was covered in a thin layer of cold frost.

"What did she just do…?" Ashka gasped.

"She's not human…" James said in amazement.

Serena weathered under their fascinated gazes, feeling so guilty. Before anyone else could speak, she fled. She ran out of the 'Center doors, never to be seen again. Little did anyone know that she had grown wings and flew off.

_I knew it was her I just…didn't want to believe it…_Daniel looked back to where Serena was last seen, the double doors. He knew he should've went after her, reasoned with her. But now that most of the people in the room had seen her do her latest magic stunt, it wouldn't be long until the whole public knew due to social network. He understood if she never came back, but the only thing he regretted was losing such an honest and selfless person.

"Gerard, you're next. Ignore what happened with Serena." Daniel said after sighing, now taking a seat and wiping off the frost. Gerard stared blankly at the floor and didn't respond.

"Mr. Daniel, you should know…Serena hasn't been the only one acting strangely." Ashka confessed. "Last night, a ranger named Ross dropped off Gerard in the middle of the storm…he hasn't been acting like himself ever since. I think he has amnesia."

* * *

><p><strong>Amber Hendrix <strong>_OMG this girl that I know just used ICE POWERS wtf_

**Sherry Brogan **I was there! Teeheehee! ;P

**Lexi Redstone **Omg you minx, I can't believe you posted this. You have to keep her secret.

**Amber Hendrix **I'm not a minx got it? I'll say what I want.  
>Lexi Redstone dislikes this<p>

**James Lopreo **Guys, I really think we need to keep this on the DL. It's her secret.

**Sherry Brogan **Na uh! She said her secret was traveling!

_This post has been deleted_

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_Serena Valliya, I know you're out there…please come back…we need to talk_

**James Lopreo **She deleted her account.

**Lexi Redstone **Email?

**James Lopreo **Gone.

**Lexi Redstone **Dammit

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_Mr. Daniel is taking Gerard to that ranger to see if she can get his memory back._

**Lucas Taylor **…Wth? I'm gone for a week and suddenly things are happening.

**Ashka Storme **Life goes on

**Lucas Taylor **So what happened? He hit his head on a tree?

**Jun Kirman **I hope he's okay .-.  
>3 people like this<p>

**Ashka Storme **Idk. He just disappeared that day.

**James Lopreo **I think he was abducted by aliens and brainwashed.

**Irene Connor **That's ridiculous…  
>4 people agree<p>

**Jun Kirman **Wait, what?

**Ashka Storme **This isn't a sci-fi convention James. This is real life.

**James Lopreo **How else would you explain the way Gerard's been acting?

**Irene Connor **Maybe he just gave up on life.  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>It took an extensive time of researching through the ranger station archives and persuading Rori to reveal Ross's whereabouts for Daniel to finally find where her cabin was located. It was only maybe half a mile away from the Skarmory epidemic last night. It was no wonder she came prepared when she did. She could practically see the fighting from her front lawn.<p>

He was looking back at Gerard every now and then as they brushed through the forest path that led to the cabin. Gerard was a husk of who he used to be—granted he didn't talk much before, but he had more life in his eyes and didn't look as sad. Maybe Ross would have some answers.

They were nearing the final asphalt road when they began seeing a large amount of giant silk spider webs. The first few were mainly coincidental, but after that it was starting to get creepy. Pita was walking alongside them and was running ahead to play in the webs. But the second she touched them, there was an electric shock that made her stumble back.

The cabin was in view now. It was a very small, two-story house with two windows on each level from the front. The house was covered in cobwebs and spider webs that blew in the gentle breeze. The ground in front of it looked strange. Daniel could tell a holographic blade of grass from a real one, but right now he was wondering why he had to speculate on that.

Gerard and Daniel stepped onto something strange that didn't feel like grass. It felt like a plastic holographic mat that was stretched out twelve feet. All the blades of grass turned red.

"Pan pour!" Pita cried. She was stuck in a web with a tiny little fuzzy tarantula coming towards it! It was a Joltik. But what was it doing in Hoenn? Joltik glared its little beady eyes at Gerard and Daniel. It hopped off the web and soon became shrouded in the grass.

"Gerard, quick, see if she's home while I look for that Joltik." Daniel ordered. Gerard nodded slowly and began trudging to the door that might fall off its hinges. Daniel took out his styler and launched the radar app. Instead of finding Joltik, he found another styler within two inches of him—

He span around, and Ross was directly behind him.

"WHAT THE—" Daniel shrieked in surprise and stumbled backwards. "Next time warn a guy!"

She looked at him blankly. Then she stared past him and at Gerard who was just about to knock on her door. "What are you here for?" She said gently. The Joltik from before was now crawling up her leg and Daniel tried pointing it out, but she ignored him. "Joltik is mine." She said. "You are standing on a pressure-sensitive plate...But I knew you were here miles away."

"Sorry about that." Daniel felt like he should apologize for just coming unannounced. "You had my camper, Gerard, during the storm. I guess I should thank you for looking after him." He said. "But I need to know what happened to him before that."

She started towards the house, making Daniel follow her automatically. She spoke as she walked. "I found him walking around the cliffs. He did not know who he was or what his name was." She unlocked the door with her styler that send out an electric wave to the door. The door swept open for them. "Gerard, I have your pokéballs and devices."

"Okay." Gerard said. He looked like he knew where it was placed because he went straight for the black box on the couch beside the bookcase.

"So you don't know what happened to him _at all_?" Daniel said, disbelieving that he had more problems to report tonight.

Ross pulled him aside to the kitchen and surveyed the kitchen. She spoke even quieter than possible that he had to lean in closer to hear. "The night before the storm, something was in the sky. A spacecraft."

"Hoenn spacecrafts are always flying around here." He counterargued.

"This one was not from our world." She said back. "Ask the elders around here, they know. They have been watching all the radars. There are aliens on our planet and all the government cares about is a mythical ice creature."

He wasn't sure about the alien notion, but the ice creature was no myth. He said, "Anyone can create a spacecraft these days and when it's not registered, it comes off as foreign. What if it's just a few trillionaires with nothing better to do?"

"You won't believe it until you are abducted yourself." She hissed. "Get out of my cabin. I'm looking for those aliens myself."

He started for the door without needing to be told twice. The kitchen ceiling looked like it was ready to cave in. And besides, if she wants to chase down a million spacecrafts to find her alien, then so be it. Right now he has bigger things to worry about, like Megan in general and Gerard's sudden case of amnesia.

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_Back to the pokémon gym to finish that battle! It will be...interesting_

**Lucas Taylor **You guys were obliterating him last time. Why are you nervous?

**Lexi Redstone **Ashka and I got into a very...umm...heated argument. I don't think she can even stay in the same room with me anymore :l

**Amber Hendrix **That's because you called her ugly

**Lucas Taylor **So apparently my jackassness is rubbing off on you

**Lexi Redstone **I didn't mean it...I was mad...

**Jun Kirman **Just say sorry and everything will be okay :3  
>2 people like this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **It not as simple as saying I'm sorry.

**Lucas Taylor **Just like saying I love you?

**Jun Kirman **You both should just try it once. Then everything will fall into place

**Amber Hendrix **You are too nice...I hate that

**Jun Kirman **Hello new friend :3

* * *

><p>The group of nine walked along the bridge to the gym. The gym leader was standing outside, supervising the removal of tape on the flat screen above the archways.<p>

"We're back!" Lexi called from the front of the group.

Theo turned, giving a sorrowful look as they approached. "...I'm sorry, we can't have the battle today. The battlefield was damaged greatly during the storm and we need it replaced before we use it again."

Lexi deflated but Ashka wasn't ready to call it quits yet. "Can't we just battle on regular ground?" She asked.

"Yeah, and I'd be glad to judge." Daniel said. "You can call me an official because I took a class on judging in college!"

"If it's that easy...then sure!" Theo beamed at the large group. But as he looked over all the old and new faces, he noticed something. "Wait, where's that brunette? She didn't claim her badge yet."

"I'll take it for her." Amber suggested subtly.

"Serena decided to go home." Daniel said instead.

"That's too bad." Theo said with a pout. "Well! Let's head over to the park and battle!"

The park in Lavaridge town had a plethora of bright red and orange flowers planted all around the park. There was an old school playground near the battlefield but out of harms away. When the three took their place on the battlefield and Daniel bordered the middle, people nearby began coming closer to watch. Some even recognized their newly appointed gym leader.

"This is a two-on-two double battle between Lexi, Ashka, and Theo! No switching! Begin!" Daniel said, putting both hands up.

Lexi looked at Ashka, waiting for her to talk about their strategy. But Ashka said nothing and tossed up a pokéball. A Staravia popped out and jumped around the grass. Lexi decided to play along and released her Haunter onto the field. It was nearly transparent and gave many of the watching crowd the creeps. Theo wordlessly released a Snivy and Magnemite onto the grassy field.

"I think these match up well." James commented from the benches where the others sat.

"Snivy is so cute! Haunter is bleck." Sherry said, smiling and then acting like she was about to barf. "What about you Amber? What do you think?"

Badass Amber was crossing her legs and staring at the pokémon analytically. "I've decapitated Staravias bigger than that before."

"...Oh..." Sherry looked disturbed and scooted closer to the muscled pink-haired farmer girl Imogen.

Theo began first and commanded his Magnemite who was orbiting Snivy, "Magnemite use Zap Cannon and Snivy use Hidden Power, both on Staravia!" The pokémon were gathering the energy that was required to muster up these moves. Ashka and Lexi silently knew that they had to act fast or they were done for.

"Staravia, fly up in the air!" Ashka yelled. Staravia launched into the air like a rocket, both wings juxtaposition to its body.

"Haunter, fade away and use Focus Blast!" Lexi said. Haunter faded away, under the sun it was impossibly hard to figure out where it went. Staravia was high above and Snivy and Magnemite had no idea where to hit. Lexi was focusing her eyes on the spot in between the two pokémon where she saw a dark shadow begin to glow in the center. "Now Haunter!" She yelled.

A bright yellow beam tore through the atmosphere from the ground, cutting through Snivy and spiraling her up into the air,

"Staravia use Heat Wave!" Ashka said. As Snivy was in the air Staravia lowered down and blasted her with red UV waves! When Snivy hit the ground head first, it was unable to get back up. The crowd held their breath.

_Wait, wasn't I supposed to be judging?...Oh yeah. _Daniel snapped out of his daydream of lounging in a meadow with Megan and announced, "Snivy is unable to battle!"

"No way! Are you sure? You're not exactly a judgebot!" Theo protested.

"Look at Snivy yourself! It can't get up!"

Theo took Daniel's advice and scurried over to Snivy's side. Snivy was groaning silently and wincing at the big knot forming at the top of its head.

"Can you still fight?" Theo asked his pokémon. Snivy was too weak to respond. Theo sighed and returned it back into its pokéball. "Fine! Let's continue this battle."

"Gladly." Ashka said. "Staravia use Heat Wave!"

"Haunter use Shadow Ball!" Lexi said too. Haunter came back up from the ground and rose its gnarly looking palms, materializing a dark orb between them. Staravia was swooping down to Magnemite—

"Back up and use Zap Cannon!" Theo said. Magnemite zipped backwards and shot a golden hollow cackling sphere at Staravia! Staravia was hit and thoroughly zapped, collapsing right on top of Haunter—or through it, and smashed right into the Shadow Ball! The ball evaporated in thin air and Haunter blinked, then became mad that its attack failed. Staravia pulled itself off the ground but was getting a sneer from its teammate.

Lexi groaned and turned to Ashka. "Will you contain your stupid bird and stop it from crashing into my ghost?"

"Stupid? You'd know from firsthand experience." Ashka muttered. Lexi scowled and turned away from her.

"I knew this tag team would never work! You're so...so...ugh, _jealous_!"

Ashka laughed sadistically. "_Me_? Jealous of what?"

"I don't know, my looks! My pokémon!"

"Why would I want to be as highfalutin as you?"

"...That's not a word! You made that up!"

"No; I read, blondie. That's why I know big words."

"UGH!"

"...Okay then..." Theo muttered, seeing as everyone was enveloped in Ashka and Lexi's argument. He commanded, "Magnemite use Mirror Shot on Staravia!"

The two girls were arguing so intensely that they didn't catch the large bright silver particles shatter right into Staravia. Staravia's cry of pain snapped them both back to the battle. Staravia was now badly scratched up while Haunter was trying to dodge Magnemite's latest Mirror Shot, but the previous move Lock-on had prevented escape, and now it too was marked pretty badly.

"Staravia use Close Combat!" Ashka yelled.

"And Haunter use Energy Ball!" Lexi said.

"Magnemite dodge it!" Theo said, crossing his fingers for good luck.

Haunter faded into the ground and Staravia came barreling at Magnemite with wings and feet thrashing wildly. Magnemite backed away but Haunter emerged from behind and shot it with Energy Ball! An explosion occurred from behind, making it involuntarily skid forward, right into Staravia's claws! Staravia jabbed and kicked, and Magnemite's metal armor was beginning to dent. One final kick had it landing in a patch of thorny sparkling roses (vampire roses). It did not come back up.

"...I believe Magnemite is unable to battle." Daniel said as everyone stared at it, or at least what they could see. Right now all he could see were the little magnet hands it had lying in the thorns. Theo accepted defeat with a good-sportsmanship smile. He returned his Magnemite into his pokéball.

Lexi smiled in triumph. Ashka was silent as usual, but the light in her eyes was bright and excited. Lexi didn't want to start another fight. She wanted to turn the other cheek, so she did. She turned around and put her hand up for a high-five.

"Good job out there." She said.

"...You too." Ashka said. With a reluctant smile, she gave Lexi a pity high five. Lexi giggled and attacked her in a hug, but Ashka quickly pushed her back. "Don't push it." She said coldly.

"Fine~" Lexi sang. Theo came over and rummaged through his pockets for a metal case. He slid it open. Inside was a case full of shiny, glimmering badges in the shape of a wispy fire with a yellow sun at the bottom. They opened their palms as their teachers had taught them to do. Theo dropped the two badges into their hands.

"They glow in the dark too." He added.

"Awesomeness!" Lexi squealed. Ashka laughed lightly at her and beamed brightly at the symbol in her hand. There were so many more to get, so more to collect. This was just one more thing that she could add to her summer accomplishments list.

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_So...everyone wants me to make a status. We're all heading to Mauville._

**Irene Connor **Beat'cha there :D

**Jun Kirman **Wait till you meet Zane! He's so cool! He tells us a lot of stories about what it was like in the past. He's really smart in history

**Lexi Redstone **My only concern is that **Amber Hendrix **is going to be walking the whole way...in heels.  
>2 people like this<p>

**Amber Hendrix **That's how I role.

**Imogen Yale **I brought some boots for you to wear Amber.

**Jun Kirman **Wow, you're so resourceful!

**Imogen Yale **Thanks :) I'm used to taking consideration for others.

**Lexi Redstone **You have a lot of siblings too?

**Imogen Yale **No...pokémon. We have a stable full of Rapidash, Zebstrika, Milktank, etcetera...

**Irene Connor **Is living on a farm fun?

**Imogen Yale **If you like work, then yeah.

**Irene Connor **Eeeeew o.o

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>posted picture _Lavaridge Badges! _Tagged: **James Lopreo  
><strong>3 people like this, 2 people dislike this, 3 people want to burn this

**Lexi Redstone **Why'd you repost Serena's picture? You guys didn't even get your badges in that picture.

**James Lopreo **I know...But since Serena deleted her account, and every trace of her...I don't know, I wanted the memories.

**Lexi Redstone **James...

**Lucas Taylor **Too bad she didn't get the badge before she left. Don't you guys get money with that?

**Lexi Redstone **Yeah. We got five thousand each, although we didn't get that much because we didn't graduate yet...

**Ashka Storme **5 grand is a lot of money and you say it like it'll only buy you a burger

**Lexi Redstone **If you want something good it's going to be over a hundred

**Lucas Taylor **Man, I need to challenge a gym. I need that money -.-

**Lexi Redstone **Aren't you in Mauville now? Go ahead.

**Lucas Taylor **I would, but Ms. Megan said we have to wait until they replace the battlefield.

**Lexi Redstone **Mauville got hit too?

**Lucas Taylor **No...they're just changing the tile to robin blue -.-

* * *

><p><strong>Oh great, the FaceBook chats are coming in bundles now O.O...Honestly, this chapter was supposed to have the traveling portion in it...but then I noticed the word count, and deadline. I hate not updating by Friday because I feel like everyone is clicking on the link somewhere on this day the most...<strong>

**So, the awesomely awesome traveling segment will be tomorrow :D What else will happen? Well, you'll just have to wait and see huh?**

**Also, several photos have been finished for your viewing. I do enjoy drawing these on the weekends, since that's my cooldown-period from writing before I start again on Monday. You can peruse them on my profile :D and more to come of course! Also, I wouldn't mind if other people drew Eastward scenes...fanart...I've always wanted a gallery of artwork for a story. So if you want to draw some, don't be afraid to ask! You can draw whatever you want as long as you put in credit of Eastward and send me a link so I can see :D Then I'll link it on my profile for everyone else to see! YAY :D (with credit due of course)**

**ALSO! (yeah, that's the second time I said it, hate it) There's this poll for the chapter after next, and I need you guys to vote on it. It is for whose POV the chapter will be in. But, there was a slight snag when I put it up last week...see, I had Lexi and Serena there until I realized they would be unavailable...and two people had voted for them. So please...REVOTE :P**

**I think that's all to be mentioned in my megaultrasuper long authors note that should be slaughtered just because. I guess I just want to say thank you for all who are reading and reviewing :D I write for fun and for the readers and sometimes I can only get tidbits written because of darn homework. So thanks to all who are reading!**

**-End Note, as if this was the last chapter XD-**


	14. Whirlpool

**Chapter Thirteen - Whirlpool  
><strong>_Day 7, Lavaridge Town, PokeMart meat-aisle_

"So I found your specimen."

"_Excellent. Where is she now?_"

"Fleeing to another country I presume. With the government giving her a good chase who knows where she ends up."

"_..._"

It has been an entire week since the campers left Unovan soil. Within that week there had been pokémon encounters, pokémon contests, rigorous battles, erupting volcanoes, freak storms, and the revealing of a human lab rat. With all that happening within a seven-day span, Daniel was dreading what would come of the next week. The trip itself could be as long as they wanted as long as they keep a good time schedule. It really all depended on the means of transportation. If he and the others had been walking the whole time, it'd take a week just to get to a new town.

His father had called him on his styler while he was browsing the PokéMart for supplies. The conversation directly turned into what happened this morning with Serena. Daniel wasn't sure what he wanted to do—give away Serena's identity? Or keep it a secret? It wasn't long before news got out from security footage. He wouldn't be surprised if he was flagged by journalists while carrying grocery bags.

Daniel was spending too much time staring at various chicken meat on the spinning shelf because of the dead air his father was giving him. "I get that you needed more help, but you did it behind my back. I was working on finding her and then you automatically broadcast your troubles to the nearest robot. I feel like you can't trust me." He blabbed, tossing torchic cuts into his basket.

"_You have to understand Daniel, we're on a time limit—"_

"Oh, don't give me that "understand me" crap." He snapped. "You never had faith in me! So good luck finding her. I'm not telling you a thing."

"_Daniel—" _His father urgently said again, but he had none of it. He repeatedly pressed the red button on the styler until the calling window closed. He finished shopping and paid for the items. When he exited, he found a tiny cube robot blocking his path. He tried sidestepping it, but it followed. He looked around at others walking around. They were being followed too, even to the point of chasing.

The tiny screen lit up.

It flashed flickeringly so fast, it blinded him.

All the robots flew away.

_What...was that...? _He thought as he recovered from the white spots. _Wait...what was I talking about with Dad last time? Something...can't remember. Well, I guess I better return to my original 4 campers...and Rodolfo's additions._

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_So am I like...the only one who was just flashed by some robots? I mean by girls, I wouldn't complain...I just...feel like I'm forgetting something..._

**Lexi Redstone **Me too. It was so strange.  
>3 people like this<p>

**James Lopreo **One was chasing me with a Taser T.T

**Jun Kirman **Are you alright? :o

**James Lopreo **Yeah I'm fine...

**Lexi Redstone **I wonder what all that was about. Maybe the robots are malfunctioning from the storm. It was the first time they've been rebooted since.

**James Lopreo **Umm...guys? Whose this brunette in that picture with me in the Lavaridge gym? I don't remember taking it.  
>Sherry Brogan dislikes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Idk but damn...her eyes are huge.

**Lexi Redstone **When did you post the picture?

**James Lopreo **Umm...a few hours ago O_o

**Lucas Taylor **You probably digitally inserted yourself in some girl's picture.  
>2 people like this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **Hmm. That does sound like something he would do.

**James Lopreo **Wait—the picture is gone! Wth!

**Lucas Taylor **Eh, you didn't look that good in it anyway.  
>James Lopreo dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel was now waiting at the east gate of town with an electronic check list. James and Lexi were the first to be checked off followed by Ashka and Gerard. There was no sign of Amber, Sherry, Nicholas, or Imogen. Daniel was constantly checking the time because he knew they were on a schedule. Mauville City was a fair distance away—An hour by vehicle—so he wanted to cover as much ground as possible before dark. It was currently 10 am.<p>

"Hey, have you guys tried calling one of them? They're not responding on FaceBook." Lexi said as her fingers flittered over the 'Gear's keyboard.

Ashka couldn't care less and Gerard was clueless so the only one who could respond was James. He was raising his 'Gear to the sky in hopes of reception because his cell phone plan was acting like crap today.

"Who'd you call?" He asked.

"Nicolas and Amber." She said.

"Ha, that's why. Those imbeciles don't answer phones." Ashka muttered as she boredly stared at her shoes and inspected the Velcro.

"Imogen seems nice, let's call her." James said.

"Alright, sure." Lexi said. "Imogen." She said to her PokéGear. It instantly dialed her and everyone stared at the wide path leading to town in search for them.

"_Hola_!" Answered a very chipper Imogen.

"Hey, you guys know that we're ready to leave right? You're holding us up." Lexi barked into the speaker.

"_Oh...So sorry Lexi, I'll drag 'em up the road right now." _Imogen answered calmly. There was shuffling.

"_NOO! MY FUNNEL CAKES!"_

"_Hey. That was MY FUNNEL CAKE TOO."_

"_Aww get over it babies." _

Sherry and Amber's voices were fighting over the line. Then they could hear the familiar voices uphill. From the crowd of walkers and hover scooters, Imogen was dragging Sherry and Amber by the wrists while Nicolas trailed boredly. Once she got to the others she beamed brightly and presented her captives.

"There was heaven in those cakes..." Sherry whimpered like a kicked puppy.

"Imogen twisted my wrist." Amber pouted darkly.

"...Are we ready to go?" Daniel asked, looking to the campers expectantly.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Nicolas said.

"...Anyone else need to go?" Daniel looked around at everyone's round of raised hands and sighed. "Fine, hurry up and go. It's not like we've got 30 miles of walking to cover or anything."

* * *

><p>About half an hour into walking half of the conjoint group began complaining. Lexi and James contained their comments while Sherry and Amber were groaning to the clouds. Daniel was far ahead of them so he wouldn't have to hear them whine. They had passed through the woodlands and were now walking through a downhill prairie where the asphalt was chipped from wear-and-tear. The path would fork every now and then, leading to smaller insignificant towns nearby.<p>

James looked up. There was a sound of heavy metal wings above them. The shadow of a large bird was consuming Lexi in front of him.

"Hey...is that a Skarmory?" She asked, peering up through the bright sunlight.

"I still wanted a Skarmory from that night during the storm but the stupid pokéballs would've malfunctioned..." He muttered, crossing his arms childishly.

"Eew a bird! It's stalking me!" Sherry ran ahead to where Ashka and Gerard were, her red locks bouncing. Amber was eyeing the bird threateningly, daring it to come any closer and she'd whip out some kind of torture device.

Skarmory swooped down and lowered onto the road, blocking James, Lexi, and Amber from moving forward without them having to walk around it. The others though were still walking. Amber gripped the handle to one of her weapons while James took out a pokéball.

"Hold on, it hasn't attacked yet." Lexi whispered, trying her hardest not to move. She thought that if she didn't move, it wouldn't see her.

"_SKAAAARRRR_!" Skarmory screamed out an ear-splitting cry that caught the attention of the others still walking. Daniel glanced at it and instantly thought, _crap, it's back._

"It's scaring me! I'm using a pokémon!" James wailed and tossed up a pokéball. His Kadabra smartly named Shazam appeared in front of them.

"Wait! James!" Daniel called, running as fast as he could towards him with his styler baton out. Strangely enough, the pokémon was not on the radar.

"Hold it. The thing has a note on it." Amber said, pointing to the white slip of paper under Skarmory's wing.

"...Ooh! Paper! Wow, I've never seen someone actually write on it before...I wonder where they got it." Lexi marveled as James gently removed it from Skarmory. Skarmory relaxed and sat on the ground as James unfolded the paper. Daniel was confused when he finally made it over to them and accepted the paper.

_Ranger Daniel:_

_Thank you for assisting in the Skarmory epidemic last night. This one is one of the tamed ones and you may use it or catch it or release it as you please. For your marvelous endeavors Rori has put word in for you to your leader in Mossdeep. We have recently been informed that you have been bumped up in rank and pay roll._

_Congratulations Rank C Ranger._

_x Ross E._

_P.S. Rodolfo has been demoted to E Rank. I thought you would like to know._

"Wow, it's in PEN too! You'd think she'd use a printer." James noted. Daniel beamed at the letter and clicked through his styler. It was true; instead of rank D, his styler was saying rank C. All he had to do now was upgrade his styler and his captures would be stronger.

"You know, you guys should remember this moment. Back in the ancient days this is how they used to send letters. Instead of emails, they sent pokémon." Daniel said as he stowed away the letter. He looked up to Skarmory and patted its metal exterior. "Now, what do you guys want to do with it? Any of you want to catch it?"

"I DO! I DO!" James cried while raising his hand and waving it fanatically.

"Well, it's already obedient. I think you can tap it with the pokéball and it'll go." Daniel said, inspecting Skarmory's bored face.

"COOL! Now, first I must cross the language barrier and speak with it." James mumbled and crouched down to Skarmory's face. "Hey, you're mine now. Cool with it?" Skarmory didn't need to think about it much. It had seen James during the storm and had already admired the Luxray he had. Skarmory nodded coyly. "YES! GO SAPPHARINE BALL!"

In a very non-dramatic matter, James tapped an expanded mural-painted pokéball on Skarmory's head. The pokéball opened up like a Pacman mouth and sucked it in. As the teachers had taught him to, he let it sit on the road and rock back and forth until it clicked locked.

"Can we keep moving now? I have to pee!" Sherry squealed some twenty steps away.

James grinned and held up the newly contained pokéball up to the light as he followed everyone back down the path. He honestly didn't think it would be that easy.

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_Just caught a Skarmory! :D_

**Jun Kirman **Congratulations! :)

**Lucas Taylor **Congrats man

**Nicolas Wolfe **Grat-z

**Lucas Taylor **What is that, Spanish?

**Nicolas Wolfe **ital

**Lucas Taylor **Grazie means thank you -.-

**Irene Connor **Did you name your new Skarmory yet, James?

**James Lopreo **No, not yet.

**Amber Hendrix **LAME

**James Lopreo **:'( You're so meanie. You won't be satisfied until you've chopped off her head.

**Amber Hendrix **Well yeah, I fully charged my saber for a reason  
>2 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_About to eat my first instant lurnch._

**James Lopreo **...Lurnch? And how is it your first?

**Imogen Yale **I don't eat instant. You know, organic produce grower here.

**James Lopreo **Welcome to the wonderful world of powder and water

**Irene Connor **I find it fascinating that food can form in the matter of minutes just by water and powder :P

**Jun Kirman **I wonder why...  
>Irene Connor dislikes this greatly, and wishes to also say "shut up"<p>

* * *

><p>The road, once a highway centuries ago, began to narrow into two lanes. With most vehicles being able to hover above ground, highway systems became impractical and now sat on top of regenerating forests and pokémon habitats. The teens had passed elevated concrete roads that had once been ridden on centuries ago. But a majority of those elevated highway paths had been knocked down and all that remained were the columns and the massive chunks above it.<p>

The road ended there, right at the foot of what looked like a colossal sized river. But the current was very speedy and loud, sounding much like a shower of uncooked rice poured into a bowl. Clusters of jagged rocks of various sizes jutted out from the bottom, nearly 3 feet deep. White foam frothed where the rocks blocked the current.

There were steps leading up to a platform that continued to a bridge of two lanes, except there was no bridge. Instead there was a sign in place that said,

BRIDGE TO BE RECONSTRUCTED

ESTIMATED WAIT: 2 DAYS

"Two days!" Lexi shrieked when she read the sign. "No! We can't stay out here for two days!" She kicked the electronic sign that began popping up ads in frustration.

"We can walk across." Ashka suggested as she stared at the other end of the river, a half mile away.

"No, Ashka, we can't just walk across." Daniel said, standing with them at the edge of the platform where the railings were.

"And why not? It's not even that deep."

"Because this isn't any ole' ordinary body of water. These are rapids. According to my styler, these are level 4 rapids, and that's pretty dangerous to try and swim across, even with a raft." He explained. "The turbulence can be pretty hard to swim against, even for pokémon."

"But not for my Wailord!" James said from below the platform as he pointed to the sky triumphantly. "Gret-tear can cross any ocean without fear!"

"You're Wailord must weigh over a ton." Daniel deadpanned, annihilating James's idea. "It'd be too heavy and have to slide across on its stomach. It'd be another rock."

"We can fly across." Ashka said, just thinking of it. "I have a Charizard and James just caught a Skarmory."

James beamed that she remembered his capture, or him for that matter. "Yeah!" He agreed. "We can fly across!"

"I have a feeling this water won't take kindly to that." Daniel said, putting his hand to his chin thoughtfully.

Ashka gave him a strange look. "It's _water_. It doesn't have feelings." She expanded a pokéball and released the pokémon from within without having to toss it up. Her Charizard appeared at the steps.

Daniel was sighing inside as he watched Ashka climb aboard the red skinned dragon. Her Charizard was observing the water with interest and a little dread that the flight might take more than a little flapping. The flight could take several minutes in the least but the water hissed and shot up like a geyser. It didn't look at all safe enough to cross.

"Please, don't do this. I'm responsible for your safety." Daniel said, borderline begging. "How high can your Charizard fly with a passenger?"

"Oh I don't know...ten, twenty feet? I don't measure." She snapped back coldly. She didn't like the way he was shooting down her rad idea. He should just let her fly across without any hesitation. It was, after all, the most plausible idea.

Just as Charizard spread out its wings, part of the water popped and rained down on Lexi and James. She was staring uncertainly at the water. She kind of agreed with Daniel on this. The water didn't seem that nice to start with. Charizard would have a lot to weigh it down, including the hiking pack giving Ashka a hunchback.

"Ashka...I don't think..." Gerard started. Everyone turned to him in surprise. He was so quiet during the brisk walk here that they forgot he was there. Gerard muted because his next thoughts became blank. He stared sheepishly at the ground and Ashka watched him sympathetically. She'd been trying to retell his life since the beginning but none of it stuck. It was like being in history class all over again. Or throwing a dry noodle at the wall.

Ashka patted her female Charizard's left wing. She took that as a signal to go. With two heavy surges from her wings, she and Ashka were up in the air. Ashka's Charizard had minimal difficulty keeping them airborne due to the extra weight, but once they started cruising it became easy, like riding a bike (if those still existed).

"She did it! Radical!" Sherry cheered from the riverbank.

"She climbed the mountain." Imogen sang poetically. Sherry blinked at her and didn't exactly catch the metaphor. Nicolas was standing in between them and staring at the sky vacantly.

"The real challenge is here, 'cause Charizard is beginning to fly lower." Daniel said, motioning Pita to watch closely. Yet Pita was being preoccupied by her flower necklace and was snuggling with it.

It was true, Charizard was soaring lower. She wasn't flying that fast either. The rapids swirled below them and popped and sizzled from the violent speed of the water. Cold water sprayed from the right side, partially drenching them. Ashka's Charizard leaned to the left to avoid another geyser, but then something swirling ahead like a flushing toilet caught their eyes.

James was leafing through an entry in his 'Dex. "This river is called Shirakawa rapids. Other than being notoriously rich in white sand, one of its most prominent oddities is the enormous whirlpool in center that rises up like a geyser unpredictably..."

"What was that?" Daniel said frantically as he turned his ear to James, just steps away.

"It's all right here..." James flashed him the 5x7 screen but he didn't have time to read. It was time for action. He hurriedly pulled up the magnifying lens app on the 3x5 screen of his styler and zoomed in to Ashka and her Charizard. He closed one eye and focused on the whirlpool. It was bubbling and swirling, which couldn't be good.

"Ashka! Get out of there!" Daniel shouted in plea. In one giant swoop the whirlpool shot up like a tornado, gulped up the two in the air, and swallowed them down. Ashka's scream rippled when the rapids flushed over her. She was being pulled downstream but struggled against the force. Her Charizard's body was limp and had hit a platform rock that she rolled onto.

Daniel rushed to open his pack and fished out the emergency flotation device that blew up via button.

"None of you follow me, got it! It's too dangerous!" He yelled, eyeing every camper that stared at Ashka uneasily. She had hit a rock with her side and was trying to grip one. The water was up to her stomach and the force was overwhelmingly powerful."Pita, dive in after her!" He ordered. Pita nodded gravely, set her flora necklace onto the ground, and jumped tail first into the water. Daniel followed after with the candy striped life saver in hand and expertly swam after Pita, one arm at a time.

"Twit pic worthy!" Sherry sang as she snapped a photo on her 'Gear.

"I don't think you should do that with Ashka in danger like that." Lexi said defensively with an emerging scowl. Sure, Ashka had insulted her earlier today, but that doesn't mean she wants her to be humiliated on social networks. Life and death situations aren't something you joke about.

Ashka's skull knocked against a tall rock and her eyes fluttered closed and she fell backwards. She was carried downstream and tried to wrench open her eyes and jab her converses into the gravel but the current was entirely too strong. She felt little arms stabilizing her legs and she opened her eyes—A BOULDER! She instinctively shot out her arms and grabbed the sides, scraping and cutting up her fingers.

"Ashka, stay put, I'm almost there!" Daniel shouted across the rush of water. She had gotten so far downstream that the other campers were out of sight. Pita was holding onto her because her small body could not fight the force. "Ashka grab my hand!" He was close and his hand stretched—

Their fingers brushed—

"I got ya!" Ashka yelled helplessly, her fingers gripping his like steel. He pulled onto the rock and gripped one of the jutting parts. He stared at her, analyzing how broken she had become. The terror was like acid on her normally cool and nonchalant mask. Every emotion she was feeling, worry, excitement, and fear, broadcasted loudly on her face. She looked like a totally different person now.

"Put this around yourself," Daniel said over the sound of the rapids, sweeping the floatation device over her head. He took the rip cord raveled around the side and fired it at a tree—it wrapped around the bark and locked. He and Pita clutched the life preserver around Ashka's waist as it slowly pulled them to land—

"MR. DANIEL! THERE'S A SHARPEDO!" Sherry cried from back there.

"It's coming! Hurry!" Lexi shrieked after her.

"Aww damn it." Daniel cursed under his breath as he sighted the tall, jagged, Egyptian blue colored fin coming their way. He couldn't make the device reeling them in go any faster and he couldn't risk sending Pita to do his dirty work. He hooked his arm into the life preserver and reached for his styler and shook the water out of it. Lucky for him it was working just fine, or at least for now.

"Pan!" Pita cried in alarm as Sharpedo rose to the surface, giving them a big grin with a good look at its 4 rows of inhumanely sharp teeth.

Daniel wrenched the baton from the styler and twirled it with his wrist, dispatching cylindrical rings of light at the dark shark pokémon. The rings swirled around Sharpedo's torso and tightened around it, much like a belt would. Daniel pulled back his baton and released his finger from the button on his styler. Sharpedo was enveloped in a clear bubble and it paused.

"He actually did it," Ashka whispered in amazement to herself, "He successfully caught that pokémon."

"I know, a surprise right?" Daniel laughed bashfully. He had to admit, he didn't think the capture would go through. He honestly expected Sharpedo to rip through the rings and take one of his limbs with it.

Everyone had caught up with Daniel and Ashka when they finally reached the grass. Ashka had ran to go find her Charizard and Daniel was inspecting on how to get across.

"There's a train station a mile from here." He said. "It'll take us straight to Mauville. The only problem is getting across the rapids."

Everyone was looking among each other in a silent conferring way. After what they had seen with Ashka, they all silently agreed that traveling further down the stream to calmer waters and then cross would be a safer route. Nicolas, the odd lavender haired fellow, had a different idea though. The idea rocked his socks and made him jittery and unable to stay still. Daniel stared at him oddly.

"Nicolas...are you okay?"

"I...I haaave...I have a—an idea!" Nicolas stammered, worriedly looking up and down and everywhere. He was unsure where to look. "I saw—I saw Ludicolo! They had striped ponchos and ten-gallon hats!"

Daniel smiled. "Nicolas...They don't wear ponchos. That's their fur. And their hats are part of their limbs." When Nicolas began to frown like he was about to cry, Daniel quickly saved by saying, "BUT, Ludicolo could really help us here. They have the ability swift swim, so rapids don't faze them. Where did you see them?"

"They're on a mini island in the middle of the river." Lexi said, jerking her finger back where they had came from. "Amber was about to turn them into an extended lunch."

"...What? I like roast duck." Amber shrugged when eyes darted to her.

They climbed back up the hill where Ashka was returning her Charizard into its pokéball. James pointed to where the Ludicolo were—in a section of the river that was like an island, except there was a single tree and rocks around it. There were three large Ludicolo and two smaller ones settled around it, just relaxing. It was probably the first time any of the teens had seen a Ludicolo be anything but jolly.

Now aware that eight eyes were watching him judgmentally, Daniel was nervous to pull off another capture. When it was a dire emergency, things worked out. But now it was calm and the Ludicolo didn't look like they needn't be bothered.

He took the baton and lassoed the rings above his head.

"Hey you Ludicolo!" Daniel called across the rush of water. It caught one of their attention. "I need your help!" The confused Ludicolo all joined in staring at him in unison, and turned their head to the side all at once. The rings of lights tightened around them and formed a bubble around them. The bubbles popped as they swam over to join him. The Sharpedo from before came near and waited to be given a job.

"Aww man, we're gonna get wet..." James sighed as he and Nicolas shared a big Ludicolo that jumped into the water the second they gripped onto its hat.

"I'm completely soaked. You can't complain." Ashka growled at him in a biting tone, sharing a Ludicolo with Amber. Lexi and Sherry shared one as well and Imogen shared one with Gerard, who still held the same inattentive face as before.

"Ludicolos, take us to the other side please." Daniel said, riding the last Ludicolo solo, plus Pita of course.

The Ludicolos took off at once, swimming like bullets with just their bare feet. The extra weight didn't hinder them at all, and the teens held on as tightly as they could when some began to slip. Sherry's eyes widened when she saw what was ahead of them.

"They're swimming straight into the whirlpool! GET ME OFF THIS THING!" She shrieked.

"Swim around it!" Daniel pleaded to the water pokémon but they ignored. They seemed confident in their decision not to alter their course.

Lexi held up her iPod and blasted the music. "Mexican music makes their muscles stronger!" She said, turning the volume as high as she could while holding onto the Ludicolo. It was so close to dunking her head into the river. The Ludicolos pumped their feet faster and the other side of the river was in view.

The rapids hissed and splashed at them, tossing white and clear water into their faces. By the time they reached the calm of the edge of the river, everyone was drenched and spitting up freshwater.

Daniel saw the looks of his campers faces and the laughs they all shared and knew he had done something right. He only wished that Megan was there to see it.

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_Had a very nice time swimming through the Shirakawa River :3_

**Ashka Storme **You're only smiling because the river didn't swallow you and spit you out.

**Lexi Redstone **You must've tasted bitter :P  
>Lucas Taylor likes this<p>

**Imogen Yale **I think Ashka tastes like a wonderful person.

**Lexi Redstone **o-o...

**Ashka Storme **Anyway...

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_YES! I see a real bathroom at the train station!_

**Irene Connor **I had the exact same problem. I CANNOT USE TREES X.X

**Sherry Brogan **...Who are you?

**Lucas Taylor **You remember me right?

**Sherry Brogan **Yeah ;D

**Amber Hendrix **Hey Sherry, the train is leaving without you

**Sherry Brogan **OH slkdjfhneskdg

**Daniel Bay **We're still sitting in the docking area...

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Alright. I want to battle someone._ _If you're in Mauville, MSG ME  
><em>3 people like this

**Jun Kirman **I'll battle you buddy! Zane could referee!

**Irene Connor **He does seem to referee a lot of our arguments.

**Amber Hendrix **YOU GUYS SUCK

**Lucas Taylor **wth...

**Jun Kirman **...Hello...?

**Amber Hendrix **Sorry 'bout that. Nicolas stole my 'Gear for a sec

**Nicolas Wolfe **liEr  
>4 people disagree and believes he doesn't use spell check<p>

* * *

><p>The bullet train took exactly ten minutes to zip down to Mauville city. For the remaining miles that it took to reach Mauville from that point near the river, it would've taken another eight hours to reach the city. People nowadays didn't have the patience or attention span to spend another eight hours walking. Daniel thought this was a better way to travel, except maybe he wouldn't have minded a slower train ride like they did in those old movies.<p>

Yeah, with the velvet booths and napkin holders bolted into the train walls. With cabinets just above their table and maybe a waiter to serve them magikarp glazed with honey and a side of brown rice. Oh, how he wanted to do that. Maybe with Megan one day. Whenever she wasn't busy being stubborn and professional of course.

As the train came to a precise stop, loudly hissing from the breaks, a thought occurred to him. He and Megan were going to meet again. Face to face. Eye to eye. And he hadn't seen her in almost three days. He hadn't brushed his teeth yet, and the only fragrance he had was the smell of freshwater and his fading deodorant. Oh, and what to say! She had dropped the L-bomb last time they spoke. How do you respond to that, even with such a time gap?

_She probably thinks I don't love her! _He panicked as he was the tail of the line his campers made when exiting through the automated doors. _I should've bought her something, like flowers! Or sent her something on Facebook! Wait, no, she doesn't like that. Damn it! This would be much easier if I didn't like her so much!_

The terminal area was bustling with underground tunnel life and he had lost his campers. He ran his hand over his face and stepped past the doors of the train to get out of the way. He stood by a pole and searched the crowd. Sure, all these heads were mostly black haired, or blonde, or brunette. He was relying on the wild haired kids on this one. Imogen had pink hair and Nicolas had purple hair—surely there isn't more people with those styles.

A wave of relief washed over him. All of his campers were clustered around a train map, and they were talking to a few people, some with familiar blue hair...

A tap came to his shoulder—

He span straight into her black eyes. Megan's eyes sparkled with laughter and amusement, coincided by her smile. Even though he had to look down at her, they still just stared at each other, speechless.

She broke the silence by standing on her tiptoes and giving him a quick peck on the lips. His cheeks burned.

"Missed you." She giggled.

"I..." He started, but his whole face was turning red and he couldn't bare looking at her. He was too embarrassed. What to say?

"Shh," She said, hooking her arm into his. "Let's attend to our kids, 'k? Then we can exchange stories."

"But I had something to tell you." He said, his tone whining and teasing. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. Too bad he didn't notice that his eyes spelled it all, and she was completely literate.

"It's okay. I think I already know." She smiled endearingly and led him to the teens.

The teens were bustling with excited shrieks and laughs so loud that it rattled the tunnel. Everyone was glad to see each other again, even Gerard who hardly remembered who these people were. He just rolled with it.

"It's so great to be together again!" Irene said, her dimples lining her smile.

"It is! I missed speaking to you guys in person!" Lexi laughed, standing next to Lucas who had his arm around her and Irene's shoulders. "So who's this Zane guy that you guys claim is your almighty leader?"

"Zane? Zane who?" James said, tapping back into the conversation. The name sounded familiar. And then it dawned on him.

_The time traveler._

"He went to the bathroom." Jun reported. "Oh, you remember that battle? It was me against Lucas!"

"Who won?" Sherry asked.

"He did..." Lucas grumbled, making a boyish pout.

"You can get him next time." Lexi laughed, patting his shoulder.

James blocked their conversation. _What would happen if a person of the past met their descendent in the future? _He was beginning to perspire as the statistics drummed in his brain. Something was going to happen to Lexi if she met Zane. Hell, if Zane stayed any longer, something very bad might happen to the past.

"Hey, here comes Zane now." Lucas said, pointing to the cement staircase some steps away.

"Where? Which one? The one with the baseball cap?" Lexi said, craning her neck.

"No, the one in the hover chair." Jun said in a low tone. Almost like it was an unspoken secret.

Coming down the stairs using a hover chair, one with two cup holders and a gadgets bracket, was a guy with medium-length black hair and familiar circular blue eyes wearing really weird clothing; his shirt was plainly black, crew neck. No light up gems? No neon wirings? Probably the most fancy thing on him was the fedora upon his head.

He stared at all the new people surrounding his relatively new friends. He used the joystick to hover over to them. The whir of his chair was soft and hardly audible, especially in the noise of the train station, and the cushions were unbelievably comfortable. He loved all these future things.

The only obstacle he saw here was meeting new people. You don't know what they'd suspect.

They all welcome him with open arms. They were polite, saying hello and generally happy for him, and introducing themselves by name. It was too overwhelming to remember it all. No one even mentioned the chair because they thought his legs didn't work. Truth was, he was just lazy.

The undeniably pretty, long haired blonde stepped out from the circle to introduce herself.

"Hey there! I'm Lexi. It's so great to meet you after hearing so much about you from the others." She said, her smile vibrant and her eyes full of life. She formally held out her hand to shake.

"Hi...I'm Zane." He said, but the second he touched her hand, everything paused.

Everything became grayscale. The atmosphere rippled.

Lexi disintegrated.

Everything became color.

Zane's eyes widened. _What just happened_? But no one else reacted. Everything carried on as normal. The rangers came over and greeted them.

"Wait a second—what happened to the blonde?" Zane blurted out. They turned to him in confusion.

"Amber's right there." James said, pointing to the only legible blonde in the area.

"No...the girl with the long blonde hair and blue eyes...her name was Lexi."

"Lexi? Whose Lexi?" Daniel looked at him strangely.

"But..." Zane shut his mouth, seeing as everyone thought he was crazy. He looked into James's eyes, even though he didn't know why. He felt like James might have some part in this.

James felt a shiver crawl down his spine.

_Why do I feel like something just became really, really bad?_

* * *

><p><strong>Alright. I think I've tortured the plot enough. (or maybe not, dun dun dunnn)<strong>

**Thank you to **_KingOfStories01_**, **_BattleSubwayFan_**, **_Shadow of Eckhart_**, **_Wind Spirit Kazuya_**, and **_AshKetchumDarkSide_** for reviewing last chapter! We're almost at 80 :3 That's a really big accomplishment in my eyes.**

**Hmm. Honestly, I had drawn that Lavaridge Badges picture, but I never finished it. I hope I'll be able to do that this week...**

**Also, we've still got another chapter before the POV one, so whoever hasn't voted, please do! Any and every vote counts, even if you haven't read up to this point (just skipped huh? Hm.)! **

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	15. Acrobat

**Chapter Fourteen - Acrobat  
><strong>_Day 8, Mauville City, Pokemon Center...7 am_

"Jun...QUIT HOGGING THE SHOWER." Lucas calmly yelled from the other side of the door to the bathroom connecting to their shared Pokémon Center suite. They also shared this room with Nicolas, who was staring blankly out the window and sweeping his comb over his bangs repeatedly, probably forgetting that he was doing it.

"I'm not done yet! I have to lather, rinse, and repeat!" Jun said shrilly with the power shower still raging over him.

"I'm going to tweet negative thoughts about you!" Lucas threatened.

"Love you best frannn!" Jun sang back. Lucas made a disturbed face and tiptoed away from the door.

For the remainder of the trip, Daniel and Megan agreed to conjoin their little groups and announced it to them last night at dinner. Although they were expecting more of a party-outcome from the news, they still received big smiles and exciting "what ifs". They planned to give the teens a double-decker tour around the city and then attend the Pokéathlon later in the evening. Nevertheless, many of the teens were thrilled.

Some even wanted to register. Lucas, James, Jun, and Zane all filled out an electronic application last night for the preliminary competitions. The girls on the other hand were perfectly find with cheering them on on the sidelines. Ashka was one of the ones who wanted to register, but she was concerned for Gerard and decided to stay with him. Amber was a Pokéathlete herself, but apparently she's been "banned" from Hoenn Pokéathlons for reasons unknown.

Jun relinquished the shower to Lucas once he wrapped his brunette hair into a Center towel. He left Nicolas to staring out the window and wrestled through the maze of white hallways until he reached one of the computer labs linking to the lobby. It was freezing in there, as if someone had turned the air conditioner down to the negative degrees. Jun sneezed and made his way around the dark room to the service stats computer in the back.

He placed all his pokéballs into scanner under the monitor and pulled up the stats. The Pokéathlon was tonight and he hadn't formally entered a course yet. Out of the traditional five, he was unsure which his pokémon would fit into.

Lampent (:Guide)  
>Speed (2 of 3), Power (2 of 2), Skill (3 of 5), Stamina (3 of 3), Jump (5 of 5)<p>

Luxio (:Joule)  
>Speed (3 of 4), Power (4 of 4), Skill (3 of 3), Stamina (3 of 4), Jump (3 of 3)<p>

Tropius (:Bronto)  
>Speed (3 of 4), Power (3 of 5), Skill (2 of 2), Stamina (3 of 4), Jump (5 of 5)<p>

Wailmer (:Orb)  
>Speed (3 of 3), Power (3 of 4), Skill (2 of 3), Stamina (4 of 5), Jump (3 of 4)<p>

Whismer (:Frequency)  
>Speed (4 of 5), Power (2 of 3), Skill (2 of 4), Stamina (3 of 3), Jump (2 of 3)<p>

He didn't have much to choose from. The Pokéathlon consisted of 3 preliminary games, 2 intermediary games, and the last game between the remaining two contestants for the medal. His pokémon's stats were particularly high in stamina and jumping. If he focused on these games, he'd win a medal for sure.

"Ole' buddy!...What'cha doing?" A voice, familiar at one time but now fuzzy to Jun, said from behind him. Jun turned his head while still leaning on the dashboard of the monitor.

"KAI!" Jun squealed like a teenage girl and enveloped his friend in a big hug.

Kai squirmed in Jun's arms. "Cool it man, save the hugs for the ladies."

"Hehe, sorry." Jun apologized and released his friend.

Kai was a regular ole trainer from Driftveil city. He, unlike Jun, chose to travel solo. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It sounded fun, but Kai had admitted that he was low on money and that it was hard to adjust to the serenity and hostility of the wild. He then presented Jun his badge case, filled with 4 badges.

"Wow! You have so many!" Jun marveled. They glowed in the dark.

"It took hard work. The teachers weren't kidding when they said Gym leaders would be a challenge." Kai admitted with a blush.

"So what are you doing here?" Jun asked. "You didn't tell me you were in town or anything."

"I'm here to be your wingman of course! You need a girlfriend!" Kai teased, poking at Jun's chest. Jun pouted and stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets.

"I...I dunno, the girls on the trip are too cool for me...everyone thinks I'm a menace..."

"That's what I'm here for! To talk you up!" Kai grinned, full teeth. "And, okay, there was a _slight _snag that brought me here..."

Jun leaned in closer to hear Kai's "whisper" voice.

"The ship is fried." Kai whispered. "That stupid storm on Saturday jammed all of our communications and I need new parts to repair it with. You have any Earth money I can borrow?"

"Nah man, I don't..." Jun muttered, shyly looking down. "I was going to challenge the Mauville Gym and hope for prize money but they're shut down for maintenance."

"That sucks." Kai sighed and leaned on the wall. "I tried mooching off Irene but she spent all her money on Earth clothes." His face twisted into disgust. "I don't see what she finds so attractive of these clothes." He referred to his own clothes by pulling on the neck of his red shirt.

Jun's face lit up with an idea. "I've got it! You can enter the Pokéathlon with me! Ooh, and you can meet my friend Lucas! He's nice."

"...Yeah...you don't judge characters well. But I'll take your word for it." Kai replied. "I'm going to go check it out. See ya."

"Bye..." Jun waved bye to his friend as he left. He turned back to the screen and analyzed the stats one more time. Yes; he was going to enter Stamina and Jump.

Wait—if Kai was HERE, and the ship was malfunctioning—where is it _now_?

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_**Jun **__left hair all over the shower floor. THAT'S RIGHT I SAID IT :( SMOTHERRRRED IN IT_

**Jun Kirman **It wasn't mine...

**James Lopreo **Maybe it's your stalker's remains.

**Lucas Taylor **Maybe. **Sherry **did you leave your hair all over the shower?

**Sherry Brogan **Is it red?

**Lucas Taylor **No, it's lavender. GIRL YOU LEFF YOUR WEAVE ON MY DOORSTEP  
>Amber Hendrix likes this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **:[ MY HAIR IS REAL! JUST NOT IN COLOR!

* * *

><p><strong>Amber Hendrix <strong>_I'm going to write a compilation of erotica poems.  
><em>Lucas Taylor and James Lopreo like this

**Lucas Taylor** Make it in good taste

**James Lopreo **Does it make me a creeper for liking this?

**Sherry Brogan **Yes. But we forgive you James ;)

**Imogen Yale **What's erotica?

**Lucas Taylor **O_O..

**James Lopreo **._.

**Imogen Yale **:l ?

**Sherry Brogan **Cover her virgin ears! She's too innocent to be tainted by dirty thoughts.

**Imogen Yale **I'm so lost...

**James Lopreo **It's better that way..  
>3 people agree<p>

* * *

><p>"These are your parents. This is your baby brother, and this is the front of your house." Ashka pointed at the pictures to Gerard as she flipped through his PokéGear, hoping to rebuild his memory. He shook his head, saying that he doesn't remember any of these faces. In a crowd, he wouldn't even recognize them.<p>

"Put that away Ashka! We're touring around the city!" Daniel said from the front of the roof of the double-decker bus they were all seated in. Megan was sitting in the back next to Jun and Sherry and was stifling giggles.

"We finished touring twenty minutes ago!" Ashka pointed out indignantly.

"But now we're heading to the Pokéathlon stadium." James said. "I hope we all get far in the competition!"

"Yeah." Zane muttered in agreement as boredly stared out of the bus. Yes, the future seemed pretty diesel filled, but the technology made up for that. He tried logging into his Facebook account from the computer last night but it had long been deleted. It felt strange to him that he wasn't even in the archives. It was a pretty strange world he was in now.

"Amber, I hope you know they won't let you inside with weapons." Megan pointed out, inspecting the handle of the light saber in the girl's pocket.

"I'll worry about that later." Amber scoffed.

"Amber! Amber! Look at meee picture!" Sherry squealed and raised her digital camera. The picture was of her accidentally almost knocking over an ancient Mesopotamian vase.

James was looking at it too. In the picture he was in the corner doing...something. Scratching his leg? "Is that why there was a red alarm going off in the room while we were in that museum? What do you think Lex—" James paused as he turned to the empty seat beside him. What was he going to say? Something felt strange to him. Like there was someone missing. Except he knew that the person didn't exist, so they were never missing.

"...Something wrong?" Sherry inquired as she flipped to the next picture. James shook his head and continued reviewing the pictures with her.

As was Ashka with Gerard. Jun even jumped in and pointed out the things he still remembered from the village. She appreciated the help, but Gerard wasn't absorbing any of his previous life. He still didn't know who he was, or who these people were. He was just glad he could hold on to their shoulders when he was lost, which was seventy-five percent of the time.

The stadium was in view. You could see the sectional seating meant to sit a million and the center field resembling much of a football field, except it was divided into five sections and equipment for the games were being hustled around. The bus hovered down to the parking lot of the stadium and belched out its riders. Other hovercrafts and flying pokémon were parking to get a good seat at the stadium.

"Everyone stay with their buddy in case we get separated!" Megan said over the sound of all the chatter in the parking lot beside the digital palm trees. She held out small square beepers with belt clips and began passing them around. "Keep these on you so we know where you are!"

"I need a buddy!" James whined. He looked around—Ashka was with Gerard (obviously), Irene was with Sherry, Imogen was with Amber, and Lucas was with Jun. The only person left was Zane, but the whole hover chair just made it seem intimidating to approach. He inched over to Zane who was readjusting the fan features. "Hey Zane...gotta buddy?"

Zane looked up boredly. "I'm going to go solo."

"Oh..." James felt rejected. There was also Nicolas, but he had to stay with the rangers because he had mental "issues" when around big crowds. Everyone began walking in twos to the ticket booth. James had no other choice but go "solo" with Zane too. He picked up a pager from Megan and slipped it onto the top of his jeans.

An electronic banner reading "CONTESTANTS" with an arrow pointing down the left corridor instantly attracted the eyes of Jun and Lucas. Jun pulled on Lucas's black vest and pointed at it.

"Oh, so that's where we go. Alright, let's check out the competition! Yo, Zane and James, ya coming?" Lucas said as he and Jun started down the corridor. Zane swerved the chair towards that direction and James followed hastily, although he looked back constantly at Daniel and Megan to see if it was okay. But they were already at the ticket counter and paid no mind to them.

"13 tickets please." Daniel said to the robot.

"There are only nine of us." Megan quickly reminded. "The boys are part of the show."

"Oh yeah!" Daniel nodded quickly and turned back to the robot. "I mean, 9 tickets!" He inserted the company credit card into the slot and the tickets rolled out. He pulled them apart and handed them each to the campers. The seat numbers were already listed. "Alright," He said above all the noise, "You all get your snacks, we'll be at the seats! If you can't find it, just use your pager!"

Unfortunately for him, all of the teens had already excitedly started down the wide tiled hall and up the stairs, out of earshot.

"I haven't seen them this excited since the Verdanturf contest." Megan laughed as they walked arm-in-arm up the slope with the rest of the crowd. Nicolas was on a leash attached to her shorts and was dragging behind with much interest to the colorful wall pictures of past events.

"I'm tellin' ya, no one cares about the artifacts in museums anymore." Daniel said with a sigh. "You'd think seeing a 21st century tablet would be exciting!"

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_I can't find my seat...T_T I'm gonna cry_

**Imogen Yale **Where are you?

**Sherry Brogan **I don't know...Irene left to answer her phone...

**Ashka Storme **What's around you? I think I saw you a few minutes ago.

**Sherry Brogan **Idk...some reflective mirror thingies, some water dispensers...this weird drinking bowl with a hole in it...oh it has water in it  
>4 people like this<p>

**Imogen Yale **...

**Lucas Taylor **So you guys lost her. In a bathroom. Wth

**Irene Connor **There are a million bathrooms in this place! How am I supposed to find her!

**Sherry Brogan **So you see my problem.

**Imogen Yale **We need to handle this problem delicately...

**Sherry Brogan **Eew! Some big lady just clogged the toilet! :[  
>2 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>James, Zane, Lucas, and Jun stuck together through the crowd of 50 or so contestants and signed in at the automatic scanners. The contestants ranged from nine years old to the eighties. Many of the people were wearing athletic jerseys since a few of the games required physical labor from the trainers. Problem was, no one knew what the games would be. There were thousands of games, dated to almost a millennium ago, so it was hard to prepare for what was to come.<p>

The lobby-esque area was divided into 5 sections to accommodate those competing in specific courses. Some were only competing in one, while others would be in three or four competitions at once. Because of this the Pokéathlon goes in a circle, doing one event per course until they've dimmed down the competition to the last 3. There were Pokèathletes who were so experienced that they try to enter all of the courses, being cycled from one part of the field to the next.

In the back left corner when you first walk in, that's the Power seating area. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be in the Power course to sit there, but its where most of them congregate and meet. Most of the red-rugged area was filled with tough looking men and women who were psyching up their pokémon with encouraging discouraging-words. These brutes were blocking the only door to the locker area where contestants left their important things.

Directly across from them was the Speed seating area, which was the biggest next to Power. Speed and Power were the most common courses and the easiest to get through so most newbies went there first before they got a taste of the other types of courses. The Speed area was next to the bathrooms and blocking them were the thin, racing types who were raring up their pokémon by jogging in place.

Further down the lobby in between Power and Skill was the Stamina area. The green-rugged area was filled with people feeding their pokémon in preparations for whatever event was coming up. The Stamina games could be running, collecting, or even just pushing people out of the ring.

In the upper left corner, where the yellow rug crossed, sat the people who entered the Skill course. It was filled with bookworms and pokémon who were amazingly smart in tactics and searching. These people were mostly quiet and didn't block the way to the training wing that was next to them.

Lastly, next to the food court was the Jump area. This place seemed to have an array of people, mostly young'ins who were releasing their hyper activeness by jumping in the air with their pokémon.

"So which courses are you guys in?" Lucas asked as they stood in the middle of the lobby where there was no specific course seating.

"I'm in Stamina and Jump!" Jun said, looking over to his competition eagerly. He wondered how tough his opponents would be.

"I'm competing in Speed and Skill." Zane said.

"Weird...I'm in Skill too! And Stamina! I WILL SIT WITH YOU NOW!" James said albeit weirdly and randomly, and Zane gave him a strange look.

"Okay then..." Zane muttered. "I'm going to go find a place to store my wheelchair."

"Don't you need it?" Jun inquired.

Zane grinned and shook his head. When he pushed himself off the chair and landed on his feet perfectly, Jun gasped.

"Lazy ass." Lucas muttered with a roll of his eyes as Zane and James left for the locker room. He hated that Zane just now revealed he could walk because he had to carry Zane piggyback down route 117 while the storm warning was under effect.

"So then what are you entered in Lucas?" Jun asked, now that it was just the two of them.

"Just Speed for me." Lucas answered. "Too bad we're not competing against each other, huh?"

"It's okay! I would've won anyway!" Jun chirped obliviously.

Lucas's eyebrows furrowed. "Why do you say that?"

Jun looked up thoughtfully. "Well, obviously, since I won that battle yesterday..."

"Battling and competing in Pokéathlons are two different things." Lucas pointed out. "Now I wish I did enter one of your courses...I'd crush you."

"Wow...Only a true friend would say that!" Jun beamed while Lucas just shook his head. He guessed there was no phasing his optimistic friend. He was sort of glad of that, because he knew he said stupid things sometimes that could cost him his friendships. It reminded him of that blonde that he used to tease...

_Wait_—he lost his train of thought. What blonde? He doesn't recall ever annoying a blonde girl. But strangely, he felt like he did. He pushed away the feeling tugging at him and tried to figure out why Jun was pulling him back out to the entrance where they came from.

Jun's 'Gear was pushed up against his ear. "Where are you? I can't see you! Did you dye your hair a different color? Oh? It's still silver? That's so weird! Are you old, like 40? Oh hey, I see you! You're standing by a digital tree! I'll bring my friend Lucas over so you can meet him!"

"Jun—quit—PULLING ME!" Lucas yelled in between bursts of energetic tugs from Jun, who was wrenching him through the crowd like a wire that was stuck in between cracks of a wooden desk. Eventually they were at the edge of the parking lot where Kai was standing, maybe even plotting to lean against the holographic tree.

Kai stared at the blue haired male that Jun brought along. "Hey Jun...who's your friend?" He seemed a little disappointed because now he couldn't talk about the "foreign" affairs he wanted to discuss. He'd know a bluman anywhere—Lucas was definitely not one. When he compared Lucas and Jun, he could instantly tell which one was wearing makeup.

"This is Lucas! Lucas, this is Kai. He's like a brother to me—he looks out for me." Jun introduced.

"Yeah, I look out chicks for you. You know that blonde chick with the green streaks in your group? I saw her decapitate a wandering Skitty this morning. Stay away from her." Kai warned seriously.

Lucas looked between the two as they carried on their conversation casually, much like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a while would. He felt like an intruder—an outsider. It was strange seeing Jun be friends with someone other than himself. _He _was Jun's best friend, no one else. How can Kai just come out of nowhere and steal his friend away?

"So you're entering the Pokéathlon right? We can all sit together!" Jun said, already imagining reserving a spot on the couch for his two bestest friends.

"I can't." Kai said, instantly deflating Jun's daydream. "I uh..._received _some funds from a local ATM, so now I can fix the...vehicle. It should be up and running by tonight."

"Aww, so you're not going to at least stay and watch?"

"I'll try and catch it on TV, if that's okay." Kai offered in compensation.

"Okay..." Jun muttered.

"We should get back to the Pokéathlon then." Lucas finally spoke. "Nice meeting you."

"Same." Kai said. He waved goodbye to the two and climbed aboard his hover board before flying off. Lucas watched his shrinking figure disappear into the afternoon. He couldn't hide his jealousy for how close he was to Jun. Jun was still waving goodbye to him, even when he couldn't see Kai anymore.

And he was still waving when Lucas dragged him into the building.

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_Okay. What the heck guys. We lost Sherry AGAIN.  
><em>Ashka Storme likes this

**Ashka Storme **Intentionally

**Imogen Yale **No! She may not be such a great person to you, but she's my friend.

**Ashka Storme **Sorry...I honestly don't know where she is.

**Sherry Brogan **I'm scared T_T I can't find anyone I know  
>2 people are laughing<p>

**Irene Connor **I just checked with Ms. Megan and got the tracker. She's somewhere on the 4th floor...

**Ashka Storme **There isn't a 4th floor...

**Sherry Brogan **I don't remember how I got up here T_T

* * *

><p><em>Kaisei Arcan <em>was added to group Summer Trek 3011.

**Lucas Taylor **The hell. He isn't part of the group.

**Jun Kirman **I wanted him here so he could talk to all of us.

**Lucas Taylor **I'm pretty sure that's against Facebook rules.

**James Lopreo **Since when do you follow them?  
>2 people like this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **Hey...this Kaisei guy is kinda cute ;P

**Imogen Yale **You shouldn't be on Facebook when we're trying to find you! :[

**Sherry Brogan **But I'm bored up here by myself! T.T

**Lucas Taylor **HEY Hey hey keep your weirdo lost persons convo out of this post!

**Sherry Brogan **...Meanie.

**Amber Hendrix **Hey. This is the dude that threatened to report me this morning.

**Jun Kirman **What did you do?  
>2 people like this<p>

**Amber Hendrix **...Things.

* * *

><p>Finally after a half-hour of rounding up, all of the campers (including Sherry, who somehow found herself on top of the scoreboard) were seated in their seats on the 19th row from the bottom in section E. The field below was divided by holographic half-walls where the color of the grass changed from red, to green, to blue yellow and purple. The announcers were in the commentators box at the top below the scoreboard much like a baseball diamond would.<p>

"_GOOOOOOD AFTERNOON MAUVILLE CITY! Today's Pokéathlon is sponsored by Apple, Android, and McDonalds! Obese people rule the world! Anyway, let's meet out contestants!"_

The fifty or so contestants of today's games spilled out from the front doors. The stadium was erupting with cheers and applause and the contestants were waving. Zane, James, Lucas, and Jun were among them. After a fast meet at the center, the contestants returned back inside.

"_Today we're beginning with Power, and the game is a classic—Goal Roll! All Power and Skill contestants please meet at the center of the field! Afterwards we will have a game of Medley Swimming, those are for Stamina and Speed, and then we'll have the Disc Catching event! That is exclusively for Jump. Now a performance by the Blue Peppers!"_

The stages were being prepared while a popular techno group performed in the middle of the stadium. Daniel looked down to his line of campers—yes, everyone was present. He didn't want to go through that epidemic from earlier again.

"So do you guys know which one our guys are going to be in?" He asked.

"The program list is all right here." Ashka said, pulling up the website on her 'Gear. "Zane and James will be up there for Goal Roll."

"Cool." Gerard said. Daniel and Ashka both snapped their heads to him, who was between them, hoping for more words. But Gerard's rare words had been said and now he was back to watching the performance.

"Are you sure he has amnesia, or he's just acting like this?" Daniel whispered across Gerard's back.

"He doesn't recognize anything on his PokéGear. Not even his pokémon." Ashka replied, looking regretful.

Megan looked at Gerard next to Daniel. She found it strange that someone as intelligent and silent as Gerard could lose his memory. As she watched the show, she leant back and started scheming of ways to remind him of who he really was—it would be easier if she knew who he was before all this.

* * *

><p>"Does this jersey make me look fat?"<p>

Zane didn't even bother to answer James's question.

Both were in the preparation barrack after the locker room where the rest of the contestants participating in Power and Skill were. Each had one pokémon of their choice—a Petilil and Kadabra respectively—and were attaching the mandatory collars and braces around their necks so they could respond to them on the field and so whatever goals they make were recorded. There were 4 teams, each with their own respective color. Both James and Zane ended up on the same team—blue.

"Hey Zane, how come you're not on Facebook?" James asked as they waited for the buzzer to sound that the stage was ready.

"I'm not into it." Zane shrugged as he laced up his shoelaces.

James stared at his shoes. What _were _those stringy things in his shoes? Didn't his shoes just tighten around his foot like the others? How strange. Well, sure, Ashka wore shoes with Velcro, but shoes with laces? Now that's abnormal.

"So...Where ya from?" James asked, wishing to continue the conversation that seemed very one-sided.

"Black City." Zane answered flatly again.

"Really? I'm from there too!" James grinned, relieved that he had finally found common ground. Zane on the other hand was beginning to sweat. Would he be found out? Would he be sent back home, back to his boring mass panic-filled world? He had to keep it cool. Fool this fool. James then said, "What school do you go to?"

_How many schools are in Black city? _Zane wondered. "Umm...that one next to the pokémon center." _Yeah, that sounds legit. There's always a school next to hospitals._

"Me too!" James squealed, now so very interested in finding out more of Zane. "How come I've never seen you around? Your PokéGear never synced up with mine on chat. I've rigged mine to find people in a 1-mile radius."

_Damn it, why's this guy so smart? _"I don't have a PokéGear." Zane simply answered, staring at the ground now. His Petilil was confused.

"DON'T HAVE A POKEGEAR? What are you, allergic to technology!" James gasped loudly, catching the attention of others nearby.

"It's just not cool." Zane shrugged. "I'm just not into what the present provides."

"The present provides sustenance packs!" James wailed. "And hovercrafts! And sustenance packs! Are you like some...anti-techie?"

"Sure, let's go with that."

James gasped dramatically. "That changes everything!"

_I wouldn't mind going back to my time period actually. _Zane thought to himself.

James paused mid-craziness. He just felt something in his jeans pocket. He scooted over to the far side of the room where some other people were chatting and pulled the "thing" out.

Why is there a zip lock bag with a blonde strand of hair in his pocket?

* * *

><p>The sixteen contestants for Goal Roll all rode up an elevator to the top of the transparent castle-like wall bordering a soccer field. The four groups dispersed into their respective corners. James followed Zane to the bottom right corner where their goal was. Their teammates consisted of another boy and one tiny little girl. Their pokémon were below on the field (in the middle with the rest), and their braces and collars lit up blue to indicate their team.<p>

"Aww man, I can't see it that well!" Irene whined, craning her neck around. Unfortunately for them, they were seated in the area farthest from the Power area where Goal Roll was set up.

"Queen Fairygonda!" Nicolas gasped and stood up, bowed to one of the players dressed in a flashy purple gown (unfitting for this game..) and sat back down.

"Irene, there's a TV right there for a close up." Megan said, pointing up at the gigantic monitors that were hanging above the last row of seats in the stadium.

"Nicolas, hand me the 3D glasses!" Irene said when she finally found the TV.

"I thought these things were 3D without glasses." Sherry muttered.

"It is. Ignore the stupid people." Amber said flatly. Irene and Nicolas pouted and glared at her, offended that she attacked their childish ways, and then turned back to the TV.

"_WE ARE NOW BEGINNING! We have 4 teams—green, red, blue, and yellow! The game is simple; get the ball into the goal, and you may not use hands, arms, heads, wings, tails, horns, pokémon moves, or DOLPHIN FLIPPERS. Uh huh. Points will go as so; 1 for the regular soccer balls, 5 for the golden one. Trainers will supply balls when they appear from their shoot. The more soccer balls, the more difficult it will be to stop other teams from getting points! And yes, we do pay attention to individual points. Individual points and team points will rack up to your final score, which will determine who goes to the next round. When you hear the buzzer, begin!"_

The enormous crowd cheered and raged on, even when the festivities haven't started.

"Peti, keep your heads up." Zane said into his Bluetooth. The Petilil below nodded to no one in particular.

"Shazam, you're guarding the goal!" James yelled into his Bluetooth.

_BZZzzZZ!_

The pokémon were off! And so was the crowd! As a soccer ball bopped onto the surface, pokémon of all sizes chased after it! Dunsparces were nearly squashed in the production of this game. Zane and James were yelling orders into their mic's, pointing too even though they knew their pokémon were too immersed into the game to pay attention.

Shazam slammed a soccer ball into one of the goals. Another one fell from the heavens, and a Bibarel rammed into it with its tail!

"Hey, it can't do that!" Irene pointed out from the crowd. Daniel nodded and saw that Bibarel's lights from the braces went out and his trainer slammed down his Bluetooth and stomped on it.

"The golden ball!" James said, rushing for the soccer ball that had shot up the shoot near Zane.

"No! Peti, get it!" Zane yelled and took the ball before James could, and tossed it down onto the field nearest his Petilil. A Pinser rammed Peti out of the way and a Minccino kicked it into the middle of the field! The pokémon raged after it, pushing and fighting to get a claw on it.

"_1 minute left!" _

James didn't know how many points they had gotten, and was hoping Shazam would get into the dogpile to get the golden soccer ball. Yet, none of the pokémon realized there were other soccer balls sitting around.

"Peti, beside you!" Zane called. Petilil ran at the ball and kicked it into the nearest goal! It went into the slot, and there was a beep for their point! Shazam bulled through the pokémon that were surrounding the golden soccer ball, shook off the Swinub who was being a bit too friendly, and kicked the ball into the goal!

"YES! How many points do they have now?" Daniel inquired to the others who had been keeping score.

"It's hard to tell. Chat rooms believe that blue team has 10 points." Megan said with a shrug.

"_Times up!_"

All of the pokémon paused on the field. There was a heavy released of air from all of them, and James started counting on his fingers of all the goals that his pokémon made. Thing was, in all that confusion, he wasn't sure the number.

"_The results are in! Everyone take a look at the scoreboard!_"

Blue Team  
>12 Pts.<br>_James L. _– 8 pts.  
><em>Zane A. <em>– 3 pts.  
><em>Aliyah H. <em>– 1 pt.

Green Team  
>8 Pts.<br>_Elliott J. _– 7 pts.  
><em>Lucinda A. <em>– 1 pt.

Red Team  
>2 Pts.<br>_Rick K. _– 2 pts.

Yellow Team  
>0 pts.<p>

"Oh my God...James won the round." Ashka whispered in amazement. She nudged Gerard. "Maybe we should stop being so...indifferent to him."

"We were mean to him?" Gerard inquired softly. Why would he be mean to anyone?

"_And those are the results! ...Wow! That's pretty sad yellow team. So that makes about...10 people eliminated from here! Wow! What, were all y'all lazy or something? James Lopreo and Elliot Jildrid are our top 2 contestants, as well as Zane Andore, and they get an extra 100 points! Now to our next game, Medley Swimming!_"

James grinned and put up his hand to high-five Zane, but Zane just ignored him and rode the elevator down.

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_YES! I got 340 pts for the 1__st__ round! I'm totally going to the second round._

**Lucas Taylor **Congrats man. At least you're not going to be swimming :L

**James Lopreo **Can't swim?

**Lucas Taylor **Oh, I can swim. Ladies will love my shirtless body :D  
>Sherry Brogan likes this<p>

**James Lopreo **Then what's the problem

**Lucas Taylor **I'll be against **Jun**

**Jun Kirman **We'll do great buddy :D as long as we're not sharing lanes, cause...I swim slow :l  
>4 people dislike this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **You're just saying that to make me feel better -.-

**Kaisei Arcan **Seriously, you'll be fine. Jun is no shark. In fact...

**Jun Kirman **I've got the uh... "special stuff", so don't worry about the water.

**Lucas Taylor **o.o

**James Lopreo **...

**Amber Hendrix **Can I have some? Do you snort it?  
>Imogen Yale greatly dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>"Where is he? Show me the Lopreo boy!"<p>

Lucas and Jun were already in their swim trunks when one of the guys from the previous event barged into the locker room. They swapped knowing looks. Why was this guy looking for James? And did he have an Orrean accent? It wasn't as heavy as Ross's but you could catch it. Plus the guy was really scary with his intimidatingly tall appearance and obvious possession of muscles.

"I know he is still here! I must meet the coward in person!" The young man yelled, barging throughout the confused Pokéathletes. He must've been participating in the next game as well because he was wearing a sleek black diving suit.

"James isn't a coward..." Jun muttered, feeling a little offended that this stranger was calling out on someone as nice as James.

"You think we should say something to him?" Lucas asked in a low voice.

"Show me the Lopreo fellow!" The guy yelled, then he stormed out to the lobby-area.

**Lucas Taylor **to **James Lopreo  
><strong>_Heads up, some guy is looking for you_

James looked at his 'Gear wildly. Since when did Lucas send him a PM directly? He read the message one more time. Unfortunately it was too late because said "guy" was already barging through the Power area, demanding that someone tell him where James Lopreo was. He even kicked down a plant—err—holographic plant, so it didn't fall. He did kick a column though, and ended up stubbing his toe.

"Excuse me sir, you're looking for James Lopreo?" James had gotten up bravely and confronted the man who was holding his throbbing foot and hopping on the other. The guy had blonde hair, shaved nicely and so that on the left side it was crop-circled to look like a pokéball.

"Yes! I am!" The guy's voice was deep and boisterous, something that caught the attention of others. But they just rolled their eyes. "I am Elliot! So far I am in second place for the skill and power medal, and I want to give that James a piece of my mind!"

"Well uh...good luck finding him." James laughed nervously. After that display, there was no way he'd reveal who he was.

And then Jun came out from the locker room. "James! James! There's this guy who's looking for you and—oh! You found him!"

Elliot's face turned stern.

"So _you _are this...James." He then scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You must be...what, 16?"

"18." James corrected, although Elliot looked like he was snarling and dropped the smarts act. He could already feel Elliot's meaty fist jamming into his ribcage.

Instead of beating him up, Elliot laughed loudly.

"Oh! Well, I have never been beaten by an 18 year old. I hope you at least _scrape _the vicinity of my score after I win the Swimming Medley, _James_." Elliot said.

**Lucas Taylor **to **James Lopreo  
><strong>_You just gonna let him give you smack James?_

James stared at the message. _What the hell! Why can't he help me in person?_

Elliot then left with the rest of the contestants to the field. That, and James bored him.

James scratched his head nervously. After seeing Elliot rip his muscles in front of a few girls, suddenly 340 points doesn't seem that impressive.

* * *

><p>There were 10 swimming lanes and 3 people in each, but there was enough room for all of them to move without colliding. Every swimmer had a brace around their ankle, and connecting it via rip cord, was another brace around their swimming pokémon.<p>

Jun could not use his Wailmer due to it not having ankles...so instead, his partner was Frequency, his Whismur. He wasn't sure how this would work, considering Whismur had the strength of a jack rabbit, but they would think something out. Lucas on the other hand had to use his Riolu since he didn't have a water pokémon. Still, Riolu was a 4 speed on land, so maybe it's the same in water.

Elliot was in the lane with Jun and was smirking devilishly. He knew he had this event in the bag. He was going to swim circles around this punk. Helping him was his Dewgong, who might as well have been a mermaid with its mermaid-like tail.

The pool was calm, murky cyan, and generally freezing in temperature. Inexperienced swimmers like Jun and Lucas didn't know the starting position for swimming, which was one hand on the rail and the other pointed forward, with two feet on the wall ready to spring.

"_TIME TO START AGAIN! Thank you Mauville High for that very...loud soprano performance. Continuing with round 1 we have our Stamina and Speed contestants swimming the event—SWIMMING MEDLEY! It's very straightforward. You all must swim as fast as you can for 2 complete minutes, alternating with your pokémon. Good luck to you all, and no that lifeguard on duty is not a robot. I believe. You may start at the buzzer!"_

"So uh..This swimming thing. It's a big sport in Hoenn?" Ashka asked Daniel, who must've known a little about it since he grew up in this region.

Daniel looked up skeptically. "Yes...I guess you can say so. Since most of Hoenn is underwater, kids usually do learn to swim about the same time they learn to walk."

"Jun isn't wearing goggles." Megan now noticed and voiced. Daniel squinted down at Jun and shook his head. Poor kid had no idea how much it was going to be a pain to not see. It wasn't like you could just open your eyes underwater and be fine. Chlorine stings.

"I hope Jun knows what he's doing." Irene muttered, rubbing her skin consciously. Everyone thought she meant the no-goggles thing.

The buzzer sounded and the swimmers were off! Elliot had the most powerful push and was practically stabbing the water with his hands, already half-way down the lane in two seconds. Lucas was fumbling off the wall and Jun was a second late.

And apparently, Jun was tasting Elliot's bubbles. He was tugging Frequency along as he kicked and moved his arms, but Elliot was already turning around in the lane when Jun got a fourth of the way. Lucas's Riolu was tugging them along and they were gaining speed.

_Ah! He's coming! _Jun tried to paddle out of the way as Elliot came barreling over, but Elliot just smirked and continued kicking, and _slugged _Jun in the spine with his foot! Jun gasped, sucking up water, and had to resurface. Whismur was panicking and tried to pull them along. Jun tried to ignore the quick ache in his back and tried to keep swimming. He frowned. That wasn't fair at all. (Note: There's more pressure underwater, so getting kicked underwater hurts more than above)

Lucas was finally turning around when he saw Jun struggling to paddle over. He wished he could ask what happened, but they had to keep swimming. And he had to win!

The buzzer went off again, signaling that the round was over.

"_Here are the results!_" The announcer said.

_Elliot J. – _5 pts.  
>(10 people we don't know)<br>_Lucas T. – _1.5 pts  
><em>Jun K. – <em>1 pt.  
><em>Rachel B. – <em>0 pts.

"Maybe we should take them swimming some time." Megan muttered as the results were converted to points. Elliot received 250 points for this round, Lucas got 75, and Jun had 50.

"I don't think Jun or Lucas will make the cut." Daniel muttered as the swimmers returned to the lobby. The next event was already beginning.

* * *

><p>Jun was wincing when he was fully dressed again. Lucas was waiting outside of the dressing room and looked at him strangely.<p>

"Dude...you okay? That swim didn't take much out of you did it?"

Jun shrugged. "It's nothing."

"If you say so..." Lucas said, clapping his hand on Jun's back. Jun winced and arched his back, rubbing at it.

"Ow! Please don't touch there!"

"What happened?" Lucas said, and tried to remember who was in Jun's lane. "Was it Elliot?"

Jun shrugged again. "Let's pretend like it never happened." He started for the lobby but Lucas wasn't satisfied.

"_Pretend_? Are you crazy?" Lucas spat, unbelieving what he was hearing. "That guy Elliot played dirty and look how many points he got! You shouldn't just "let it go"!"

"Just _forget_ it!" Jun yelled, his eyes full of rage and fear and hurt. Lucas took a step back. Jun had never been this angry before. He was always so happy.

But now it was an upside down smile on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_**James **__you need to do something about that Elliot jerk._

**James Lopreo **Like what? I'm a professional nerd. I crumble easily.

**Amber Hendrix **Are you guys talking about smashing some dude up? I'm always in for a brawl. Just let me pick a saber...  
>Lucas Taylor likes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **See? We can assemble a little gang against him.

**James Lopreo **What did he do exactly? He's just playing by the rules. He got that 490 fair and square.

**Lucas Taylor **Fair? You should see Jun right now. He's lying on a freakin' ice pack.

**Amber Hendrix **Omg. The violence backstage. I knew I should've entered

**James Lopreo **Fighting fire with fire isn't smart.

**Amber Hendrix **Na uh. I have a flamethrower and he doesn't.  
>Lucas Taylor agrees with this<p>

**Kaisei Arcan **Wait, so what exactly happened to Jun?

**Lucas Taylor **That brings the army to 4. Kai can bring a wrench

**Amber Hendrix **Who fights with industrial tools anymore?

**James Lopreo **Let's just see who gets to the next round.  
>Lucas Taylor and Amber Hendrix wish to "boo" this action<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel was on a snack run with Nicolas when the results for who goes to the intermediary round came in. They both froze their order and looked to the screen above the archway to the bleachers. Out of the 50 contestants, only 20 made it to the next round. That just eliminated the newbies and wannabes.<p>

Unfortunately, to get to round 2, Pokéathletes had to have a score of 100 or higher. So Jun and Lucas didn't make it to the next round. James and Zane on the other hand, did, with 340 and 160 points respectively. Daniel decided to buy extra comfort food for the two who would be trying to find them for the rest of the program.

The two made it back to their seats and found that Lucas and Jun had already integrated themselves into free seats that other people had left.

"You guys did well for first-timers." Daniel noted, allowing them to pick first from the bag of treats. Lucas took a chocolate bar and Jun decided to "taste the rainbow".

"You mean noobs?" Lucas clarified.

"Noobs or not, you all made your families proud." Megan smiled and tussled up Lucas's hair. He now scowled and hated sitting below her. "Just be glad you aren't going home with zeroes."

"We did get medals of participation though." Jun pointed out with a small grin.

"So are we doing the inside job or what?" Amber called from down the aisle. Daniel tried to make sense of this in his mind, to no avail.

"Let's see how it goes in the 2nd round first." Lucas said. Everyone shushed as the performers ended their song and announcers spoke again.

"_Thank you Electric Slide dancing group. Our next round is the intermediary round, which will basically separate the best from the best! To get past this round you must accumulate more than 500 points, so play nicely! We will have 2 events this time; Artifact Hunt for Skill, Speed, and Jump...because we love high ledges, and Pole Vaulting, which will be Jump and Power! Oh—wait—I was just notified that it's the other way around. Pole Vaulting, and then the hunt. Ah. Also, each contestant can only choose one game of the two! So those for Pole Vault, report to the center stadium!"_

Lucas and Jun peered over the railing to see where James would go.

Both he and Elliot were going to play "Artifact Hunt".

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_Good luck, __**James.**_  
>5 people likes this<p>

* * *

><p>The Pole Vault event had to be the most entertaining of today's events. Most of the trainers and pokémon that jumped either hit the pole or the mat face-first. Even for Zane, who had his Petilil and Elekid jumping the pole before he did, barely got over the pole. People on TV made Pole Vaulting look so easy.<p>

So it's safe to say that Zane's score did not surpass 500.

During that event a chamber—sort of like a glass prismatic box with air holes—was rolled onto the field. Inside was sand and rocks and boulders and a large scale of digging that was required to find certain items considered as artifacts. Robots were set to hover around the chamber with video cameras so others in the back rows could see what was going on.

The 7 Pokéathletes participating in this event lined up to get to the one door to the chamber. Elliot was in the front, followed by James. They each had a pokémon of their choice—a Luxray for James, and a Linoone for Elliot.

The announcers began the event. "_The event is Artifact Hunt! Every one of our archaeologists have their PokéGears or items of the like programmed to find the items buried in the sand! Now—be aware, having real artifacts here would be devastating knowing our contestants wouldn't handle them properly, so instead they will be searching for barcode cards that have a hologram so you can tell what item you found. Contestants can keep the cards from other players or hide them as they please. The rarest items found will be worth the most points! You all have 60 seconds to search and scan! Now everyone into the site!_"

As the crowd burst into applause the seven people all positioned themselves somewhere in the dirt. James decided to stand the farthest from Elliot, near the tall mountainous-structure that looked dangerous to climb. At least there was a set of stairs behind it. James looked around to the other contestants. They were all molesting the ground with their eyes, trying to uncover the barcode cards, and Elliot was the worst of them. James rubbed his Luxray's head in reassurance, and then the buzzer rang!

James and the rest sprang into action, with only 60 seconds to find tiny little cards with a series of black lines on them. His Luxray could already see the cards in the ground and dug them up, two by two and three by three. James grinned and collected them all. Most of the holograms had turned out to be old tomato cans or clay bowls, but he knew there was something much more rare around here.

_I bet there's a holy grail around here somewhere! _He thought, momentarily looking to the others who were having trouble finding cards. Elliot's Linoone was quick and dug expertly through the ground, tossing out cards with clay bowls and prehistoric stone weapons.

"Lux!" James's Luxray said, head pointing to the top of the mountain.

James nodded and ran to the side of the mountain and climbed the ladder, boosting his confidence with the nonstop cheering. He reached the top but wasn't able to stand there because it was so small, and had to stay on the ladder, but he had found another bar code card sitting right there! And the holographic image—

An opal-jeweled golden crown.

James's eyes lit up as he reached for it, but the second his hand hovered over the card—a thick hand grabbed his wrist. James looked up in horror. Elliot was smirking albeit evilly and his eyes were dark.

"Trying to steal my crown Lopreo?" Elliot hissed, eyes narrowed. He resembled a snake in a way. Elliot threw back James's wrist and swiped the card. James couldn't believe that this guy stole his points. What's worse—he was using the ladder right next to his, and Elliot flung the card to the ground once he was finished scanning it. James started after it, climbing down as fast he could—Elliot _pushed _him off the ladder!

James screamed and hit the sand with an _oomph_!, and sand plumed under him.

Elliot laughed and dropped a card in front of his face. "Here Lopreo, you may have _this _one."

James's eyes widened when he remember that he hadn't scanned any of the cards—he only collected them! Time was ticking down to 3 seconds! He desperately scanned the card that Elliot dropped—

Time ticked to zero. James had scanned an empty peach can.

"_And that's that! Here are the scores!_"

_Elliot J. _– 175 pts.  
><em>Rachel B. – <em>120 pts._  
>Lucinda A. <em>– 115 pts.  
><em>Craig R. – <em>100 pts.  
><em>Noel D. – <em>90 pts.  
><em>Alternate L. <em>– 50 pts.  
><em>James L. <em>– 5 pts.

James read the scoreboard frustratingly. He already knew what this meant—his total points was 345, and that wasn't enough to get to the final round. His fists clenched as he and his Luxray exited the glass chambers. He wanted to punch the smug smile off of Elliot's face.

_I should just let Amber have him. _James grumbled as he returned to the lobby.

* * *

><p><strong>Kaisei Arcan <strong>_Does anyone know the where the president of Oceania lives?_

**James Lopreo **He's at the capital. You know, at Holon. In Capital city.

**Jun Kirman **Why do you need to know...?

**Irene Connor **You're going to do it now? But...I liked...never mind

**James Lopreo **...What? I'm confused.

**Kaisei Arcan **So to be clear, the president of Oceania rules over the regions Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Fiore, Holon, Orre, Sohjay, and Oblivia?

**James Lopreo **Yeah, that's most of them.

**Kaisei Arcan **Awesome.  
>Jun Kirman dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Man, I saw what happened during that event __**James**__. Still don't think we should sick __**Amber **__on him?  
><em>3 people like this

**Amber Hendrix **I just finished polishing my scythe...I can borrow a black robe from the morgue...

**Imogen Yale **Like the way you borrow other things, like my hair brush? I think we should just speak calmly with the guy.  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **We already tried talking! The guy is a jackass. This is the time for action.

**James Lopreo **I don't even care anymore.

**Lucas Taylor **But he gets to go to the final round! That should be you up there!

**Amber Hendrix **Seriously James, let us handle this.

**James Lopreo **:[

* * *

><p>James was in the pokémon-center area of the Pokéathlon, getting his pokémon treated. While he was down here the final event, a relay race, was taking underway between the 6 finalists. James had no intention of watch Elliot trip the others and slipped down to the basement where the supercomputer of the 'Center was.<p>

He scanned the blonde strand of hair that he found in his pocket earlier.

Something should've came up, right? Because it existed. James stared at the screen. There wasn't much—it was just a family tree, except the info of the person's DNA was blank. In fact, up the tree for almost 10 generations the tree was blank in one specific branch.

And it all led to Zane Andore, the latest one to have a profile.

DOB:  
>1995<p>

_Wait a second..._James could not process his next thoughts. How is someone from _1995_—God knows how long it's been since then—still living in 3011? How—

_My time machine extractor worked! _James realized. _But then—if he's here, he needs to go back so the tree redoes itself! And the hair must belong to one of his descendants—who is that? And how do I have their hair if Zane is still here? _

_It's clear then...I have to send Zane back no matter what!_

* * *

><p>Most of the campers were clapping reluctantly to the winners of the Pokéathlon. Of the 5 categories to win, Elliot had gotten 2nd place in two of them, which still made Lucas pretty aggravated. Jun's anger was long gone and he was happily clapping for him.<p>

It was night time now and everyone was back in the pokémon center having dinner. Daniel and Megan went to go have dinner at a restaurant, highly encouraged by their campers.

"Ugh, someone turn the channel off the news." Ashka muttered as they all sat around the same table with a TV being projected in a cube-way so everyone could see it.

"I didn't turn it.." Lucas muttered, the nearest to the remote inside the table.

"All of the tables turned to the news." Irene noticed.

"Even the robots..." Gerard muttered quietly next to Ashka.

"Oh no, not another PA..." James muttered, but he could not remember the last one. It had something to do with flashing lights.

"_WE HAVE JUST RECEIVED NEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT OF OCEANIA. PLEASE STAND BY FOR HIS MESSAGE."_

The president, decked out in a really expensive suit, appeared on the screen with his president-desk back in Holon. The smog and darkness of Capital City was behind him.

"_Hello people of Oceania. Congress and I have just past a very important law that affects everyone owning pokémon._" The way the president spoke, it sound like it was rehearsed...or controlled. "_It is called the Limited Act. All minors under the age of 21 without a proper pokémon license, which is received at high school graduation, cannot travel with more than one pokémon on them. It is too dangerous to be carrying more than one pokémon when away from adults who can properly handle them. This will be under effect immediately starting tomorrow. Anyone who does not abide by this will be dealt with. Thank you."_

The screen returned to whatever everyone was watching.

No one could eat anymore. They were sharing looks.

"Only _one _pokémon...?" Sherry wondered.

"This is ridiculous! Wouldn't we need more than one pokémon to protect us in the wild?" Ashka said. Everyone else was silently agreeing, but didn't say anything. No one argues with the president.

All they knew was that there was going to be an influx of pokéballs being sent home tonight.

* * *

><p>Daniel and Megan were climbing aboard a hovercraft they rented using the company credit card.<p>

Megan was feeling guilty. "Should we really do this? What if they're not ready? What if they get lost?"

Daniel shook his head and started up the hovercraft. "It's all a part of the journey. They need to learn to travel by themselves." It wouldn't start up and he groaned. "_PITA_! Get out of the trunk!"

Megan sighed and correctly started up the Gravitee for him. He said "oh" and took the wheel.

"I know they need to learn but...Are they capable of it? It's only been a week. What if they don't make it to Fortree?"

He put his arm around her shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly. "Hey, they're smart kids. They've got maps. They'll be fine."

The hovercraft lifted into the sky and thrust forward.

Megan pulled away from his arm and looked into her lap. "I don't want to be vacationing when they're worrying where we'll be..."

Daniel smiled and took her hand. "Hey, this is our first free time away from them in a week. Can we get our minds off them for a second?"

"...I'll try." Megan sighed and looked out the side of the hovercraft at the ground.

She couldn't shake off the guilt of going to a spa in Pacifidlog town while the kids were going a-wall trying to figure out where they went and what to do. She dreaded tomorrow morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Longest chapter ever written. I hope you all enjoyed :3<strong>

**I know some of you were expecting a Gym Battle, but I wanted to get this out of the way first. In the next city I promise there will be gym battles!...And some other dramatic things relating to the plot :P**

**Anyone who has not voted yet for next chapter's POV, please vote. I'll wait till Saturday to close the poll. So far Gerard is winning. I mean really guys...its like you knew what I was thinking. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! :D**

**Also, there is a schematics of the lobby-area for the Pokeathletes on my profile, if anyone wants to check it out for a mental picture. Pictures always help. **

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	16. Upwards, Part 1 of 3

**Chapter Fifteen - Upwards, Part 1 of 3  
><strong>_Day 8, Monday night around 10 pm. Mossdeep Research Facility._

The second Serena landed on the roof of the Mossdeep Research Facility, red aiming-sensors spotted all over her body. She put her arms up and span slowly around to count all of the forces aiming weapons at her. There was a fair number of twelve.

"Don't move." Osmond Bay said, emerging from the door to the elevator. Serena made no moves and felt very stiff and ridged. She took orders from him very seriously—mostly because he was her medium between life and death. Since she was a lab baby, there were things hidden in her body that could kill her that she didn't even know about. He could activate it with the touch of a voice command.

Mr. Bay then clipped a metal blinking anklet to her ankle.

"Alright, you may move now."

Serena sighed and relaxed. She said nothing and allowed him to speak, which he was waiting to do. First he gave her a one-over, making sure she wasn't injured on her way back.

"Everything seems fine. Welcome back _Serena_." He laughed at her name. "Serena Valliya, huh? And you chose a life in Castelia City? Very smart. I would've never thought you'd go that far to hide from us. How'd you get there? Plane? I know it's beyond your flight stamina."

He led her to the elevator, the agents with the guns behind them. After a quiet ride down the elevator they reached the basement to the resting quarters.

"So, I saw all the things on Facebook. I made everyone forget you and deleted any and all traces of you so you're idiotic revealing won't go past Oceania."

"..._What_?" Serena's eyes widened behind the grey face-plate embedded into her skin. "_Everyone_? _Everything_? But—but what about my friends? My family? I had a life before all this!" She didn't know that she was yelling, but Mr. Bay figured she'd be angry and kept a straight face.

"Correction; you had a life _during _all this. In your early years we allowed your donor parents to take care of you until your powers developed. Then you voluntarily came here. I believe the only friends you have are us, the scientists." He said matter-of-factly.

"No!" She shook her head. "You guys aren't friends! Friends don't poke me with needles...and—and push me off a cliff to see if I'll fly—and...make me ice their drinks with my powers when they're too lazy to get a robot and...and..." Tears formed in her eyes when she realized she had just lost the best group of people she's ever met. Sure, they've had their hard times, but they persevered. Tears rolled down her mask and she cursed for being such a crybaby.

"And what _friends_ have you made?" He raised his eyebrows like mountains.

"I—I had James, and Ashka! And Gerard and Lucas and Irene...even Jun! I—I didn't talk to him much, but we had a mutual friendship! You _ruined _it all!" Her craggily, stone-like wings curled around her sobbing body. "Especially..." It was on the tip of her tongue. A blonde, blue-eyed...no...she couldn't remember. "I lost them all." She whimpered.

Mr. Bay looked at her with sympathy but he could feel the great awkward in the room. What do you say when a teenage half-pokémon starts crying? He motioned for security to stay back as he gently led Serena to her suite at the end of the hall. The hall had long been repainted since she escaped and no longer resembled the results of a lit matchstick.

"You've still got your memories." He muttered.

She shook her head. "Their lives will carry on without me. I'll miss all the adventures that they'll have with Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan..."

Mr. Bay sighed at the sound of his son. He really had screwed up with that one. Why couldn't Daniel be as passive as his sister? They came to the end of the hall and Serena scanned her hand on the cold glass door. It left a foggy imprint as it scanned. With a little ding, the doors slid open and her room greeted her as though she never left. It was cold, lifeless, and generally empty. She tossed her pouch-shirt at him and entered, heading straight for the king-sized bed at the right.

"So...breakfast is at 9. I expect to see you there." Mr. Bay muttered as she snapped her fingers so the doors closed abruptly, nearly snapping off the tips of his fingers. As he walked back to the elevators he flipped through the pictures on the camera he had found in the shirt-pouch he had issued her. There was scenery, pokémon, people, and life itself. There were pokémon battles, spa pictures, and group photos with her actually in them. It was bright and exciting out there as portrayed in the images, and he felt guilty for taking her away from it. But he had no choice.

He grimaced and zipped the camera back into the shirt. _I should have told her the memory lapse is only temporary._

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard's POV<strong>

It felt strange to _not _have memories. Know what I mean? One day you fall out of the sky in a whole new world, basic knowledge of survival, and then..._poof_. You're in a whole new situation. Everyone knows you, but you don't know any of _them_. Then you see their faces...So very, very embarrassing.

I guess the situation could've been worst. I could've found my way into a group of crooks who claim they know my past and trick me into being some pseudo-villain. I wonder if that's how it is with my current situation. Everyone's been filling me in on how life was before "that moment", and I just accepted it. Behind the scenes I researched if that what had been said had been true. Turns out, through several media networks and emails, everything was true. With the technology today had, it was easy to pick off from where you left off.

But I was still determined to figure out what life was like before "that moment". It was a hollow spot in the back of my head. A whole story before now that starred me as the main character. I wish I knew what had happened.

I woke up the next morning from another strange dream. It was the same one as usual, but the events screwed around sometimes. I was still on some type of ship, there were two people from my group, and then I was dropped onto the ground. Sometimes the two people would be Irene and Jun, or Irene and Ashka, or Irene and some other guy, but it always had Irene. I could never figure out why. I never thought of her enough for her to have that much significance.

I noticed a pattern when it came to traveling with these people—wake up, argue, brush teeth, argue, eat breakfast and debate over something stupid (Do the classic Disney movies portray innuendo? According to Lucas and Zane, the answer is yes), and then head on to our next activity directed by Mr. Daniel.

We were in stage one—getting up. I shared the room with James and Zane, and next door conjoining to our room was Jun, Lucas, and Nicolas. James was always up (although I think he never sleeps due to the bags under his eyes) first and on the 'Center laptop. Zane is always the hardest to get up in the morning. Jun likes to come around with a trumpet app and blast it in everyone's ears if they're not up by 9 am. I think this is because all the good food in the caf' is gone by 9:30.

"Morning Gerard! Is it morning? Dusk? Dawn? Vampires." James had a bipolar moment and continued to wave to me until I waved back.

_SPLASH!_

"JUUNN!"

"Good morning Lucas."

James stared at the half-open door conjoining our rooms. Immediately following, Jun and Lucas ran into our room, Lucas being the one carrying what looked like a short-circuited servantbot.

"Look at what Jun did to the robot bringing me breakfast!" Lucas cried. "He killed it I tell you! KILLED IT! Murderer!" He turned to Jun with a scowl.

"There was a bug on it."

"You shouldn't give Nincadas mercy! Robots deserve to live!"

Zane groaned and took one of the many throw pillows the 'Center beds provided and chucked it at Lucas, although it hit Jun instead. Jun stared at it and smiled. Zane yelled, "Shut it...Trying to sleep! Back in the day them "old people" didn't have to wake up to robotic issues."

"Yes sir..." Lucas and Jun chorused, their faces both falling. They shuffled back into their room with the robot beeping in a deep voice...

Our other door opened. Ashka was on the other side. I felt safer when she was here and greeted her with a wave. She said, "Hey, you guys seen Mr. Daniel or Ms. Megan? Their rooms are empty."

"They're probably at breakfast." James shrugged.

She shrugged and looked at me. "Gerard, wanna go get breakfast? Get dressed. I just remembered a funny story from 3rd grade that you _need_ to remember."

"Can James come too?" I ask. James looked up with a brightened face.

"Yeah yeah, he can come. Just hurry up!"

"Yay! Field trip!" James cried and closed his laptop.

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_Mauville guests—the pokémon center is serving a donut buffet, candy bars, sustenance packs, and Berry bar. GET IT WHILE IT'S STILL HERE :P  
><em>3 people like this

**Amber Hendrix **What the hell? This post was like...3 hours ago. Why are you still up?

**Imogen Yale **"Still up"? No. I "woke up".

**Amber Hendrix **Weirdo.

**Irene Connor **THOSE VULTURES FINISH THE WATMEL SPREAD YET?

**Amber Hendrix **Yeah.

**Irene Connor **snurfakrfmwqalmfsm DAMMIT

**Amber Hendrix **I took the last one  
>Irene Connor greatly dislikes this and continues to spazz<p>

**Jun Kirman **I love how exciting breakfast gets.

**Amber Hendrix **Out of Salac spread too.

**Jun Kirman **NOOOOO! My precious...my precious... T.T

* * *

><p>There was still a surplus of berry jam and toast when we arrived in the cafeteria before all the other tenants. I felt like a little kid, letting Ashka point out the food she was getting me and holding both our plates while I just trailed from behind. She said she knew my favorite foods and should let her handle food choices. I ended up really liking what she picked so I had to trust her.<p>

We took a seat at one of the hexagonal tables near the TV's and started eating. The TV was on the news and they were all discussing about the new law that was passed last night. Imogen and Amber came over with their trays half full and sat.

"She doesn't want to sit with us." Imogen whined playfully.

"Her loss. We're a rash that keeps coming back." Amber said with a menacing laugh.

I looked sideways to Ashka. Her head was facedown, focusing on her food. I gave her a questioning nudge and she just shrugged. I wonder if we always had this silent communication. I wonder what we were before I lost all memory of her. Were we friends? Were we lovers? Were we just acquaintances like these other girls were?

James took the seat next to me and I spotted everyone else from our group, including Zane in his hover chair, getting in line to the buffet. The news channel on TV was apparently very interesting to my friends and I looked at the screen. There were some people from Kanto who were being interviewed on their thoughts of the new law. Live from the streets of Cerulean city.

"Can you believe this crap?" Ashka muttered, pointing her half-eaten bagel at the screen. "It's a dangerous world outside of city gates. Who is the government to tell us how to prepare ourselves for the wild?"

Imogen and Amber were sheepishly poking at their sandwiches. I don't understand why no one else wanted to discuss about this. It wasn't like we were breaking a law by hating it. It wasn't like we were rebelling.

"What are you going to do about it?" I ask Ashka.

"I don't know. Maybe some guys will be stupid and leave the city with more than one pokémon and do us all a favor. We have to prove those old guys wrong. I bet they've never left the comfort of their glamorous hover limos." She grumbled, presuming to stab her instant cereal with a fork. (Why doesn't she use a spoon? Strange.)

"We'll pull through it." Imogen reassured in a sweet voice, the way she always spoke. Calm and collected. I guess it's easier for her because she only _has _one pokémon—a Cottonee, which she showed all of us last night.

The rest of the group sat around our table. According to Mr. Daniel, we weren't always this close. In our first days of traveling, we hardly shared tables or talked to each other. Look at us now.

"Aww damn, I forgot to pick up a butter knife. Any a' you guys have one I could use?" Lucas asked, looking around the table as he peeled his bagel in half. Amber slid one across the table. I seriously wonder if she's the person I should turn to for heavy artillery. Lucas grinned and spread oran berry jam all over his bagel.

"Any of you guys feel weird that neither Mr. Daniel or Ms. Megan came to wake us up this morning?" Irene asked as she absently stirred a spoon around her generic fruit cereal.

"They hardly do a good job of waking us up in the first place." Lucas said in a muffled voice, his mouth half-full.

"Still is strange though." Ashka muttered. She was pressing a button on the table to get a robot to come over and collect her tray. "We'd usually see one of them running around."

"They probably got tired of all of you guys and left." Zane commented with a shrug. Everyone looked at him with aggravated looks. Sometimes I wondered if he overstayed his welcome. All he ever does is sit and make everyone carry things for him. I understand that he's in a chair but...still. Nobody wants to give you a sponge bath.

"I bet they're making out in a corner somewhere." Lucas suggested like it was the most realistic reason.

"Eew..." Imogen muttered, now disinterested in her breakfast because of the mental image. I tried to picture it in my head but then again...I rather not.

"It's possible!" Lucas cried out. "Those two have been having hot-and-heavy chemistry ever since they reconnected on Sunday. How many of you bet Ms. Megan's going to get pregnant by the end of the trip?" Amber was the only one who put her hand up. I felt like there should be someone who should slap him right about now.

"Quit being ridiculous." Ashka snapped. "Those two are completely professional. You see how cold they act towards each other."

"Well, technically, he said they were dating when we were around that campfire." James pointed out. Campfire. Hm. I tried to remember being around that. I bet it was fun.

"Ah, young love..." Jun sighed.

"They're older than us." Lucas pointed out.

"Right. Middle-aged love." Jun corrected.

"They're both around 24." James scoffed. I wonder how he knew that. Well—he's super smart. I guess calculating age isn't very difficult for him.

"You know what color hair their babies would have? Black. With big noses and circular eyes." Amber said, laughing obnoxiously loud after it.

"I think they'd have adorable babies." Imogen thought aloud.

"Are you guys really talking about this?" Ashka sighed in defeat. "I think what we should really be wondering is how we're going to survive in the wild with only one pokémon each."

"Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan will protect us. They're good pokémon rangers." Jun pointed out gladly.

Good pokémon rangers. Hmm. I had a feeling that before...Mr. Daniel wasn't all that. That he struggled. Some images stirred around in my head. I was thinking of a Milotic. And then a white ape. Shiftry? Strange..

Why...do I feel like that happened before?

"GUYS! GUYS!" Sherry came shrieking in through the entrance with fracasbots chasing her. Ooh, angry emote faces. I just realized she wasn't eating with us...well, that would explain why Lucas wasn't trying to peak under the table. "Look what I found in the bathroom! IN BETWEEN MY LOTION BOTTLES! The monster!" She slammed down a square-object with a tiny light at the corner.

"That's a holo-card." James said, pointing the straw to his sustenance pack at it.

"We know what it is." Ashka deadpanned. "Who's it from?"

"We'll never know if we don't open it! Touch~!" Irene sang and leant over the table to touch the middle of the square-item. The middle opened to a lens. A white light shout out of the lens and projected to a holographic image of Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan—

Tied up to chairs...?

"They're tied up..." Imogen gasped.

"We can see that." Amber deadpanned. "In a triple helix knot though...now that's impressive. I hear you can only get out of that with chainsaws." She chuckled. "Not like I've tied people up like that...recently."

"Shh, the message is playing." Ashka snapped, glaring at everyone at the table.

"This is so messed up..." Lucas whispered before it even started.

Jun whispered, "Oh no."

As mentioned before, Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan were tied up to chairs with robe and their mouths tied with what looked like sweaty Pokéathlon jerseys. That must be gross. Their eyes were wide and frightened and it made me feel uneasy. A figure shifted the camera around and then came into view. It was a man with a top hat and fancy pin-striped suit.

"_Hello children! Hehehehehe!" _The man's evil laugh was creepy—not because of the way his eyes went up to the ceiling and he rubbed his hands together psychotically, but because it was high-pitched like a little girls. "_Familiar with these faces? Hehehehe! They're MINE now! You want your precious rangers back? Meet me in Fortree city and challenge me to a pokémon battle!"_

"He kidnapped our leaders..." Jun pouted at the hologram.

"Is this guy serious?" Ashka muttered, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"_If you don't get here in a week, they're going to have a nice date with my AGGRON!" _A sickening roar rumbled the camera around. A large barrel-like arm shot out of the dark background and took the backs of their chairs and started pulling our rangers back. The two were swapping terrified looks—Ms. Megan kept her cool, but Mr. Daniel was clenching his teeth and sweating. Ms. Megan's chair was dropped but Mr. Daniel's chair disappeared into the darkness—followed by his scream.

Oh gross, there went my breakfast!

The man in the suit smirked and massaged his mustache as he stepped closer to the camera, making us only see his torso-up. Amber was steaming and trying to climb onto the table to punch the hologram, but Imogen and Jun were holding her back.

"_Want them back alive? You better travel EASTWARD, kiddies. No hovercrafts, no flying pokémon, no shortcuts. I've got the whole region wired. If any feet leave the ground, these two are finished. Hehehehehe." _The hologram closed. I realized that others in the caf' could hear the hologram but no one else was watching.

"Face us in real-life, punk! I'll amputate a few of your parts and see how you like it!" Amber screamed at the square. I shook my head in dismay. I can't believe our rangers had been stolen—and _we _had to save them. But would we? I mean...we're just kids. Who are we to be heroes?

It was silent around the table.

"We need to tell the cops." Ashka muttered, pulling the holo-card towards her.

The holo-card opened again and the pin-striped man's hologram returned.

"_OH! And if you tell anyone else about this, kiss your rangers goodbye! Hehehehe! Okay, not literally, that'd be gross. Like a communal bath. Hehehehe!"_

Nicolas clambered onto the table and smashed the holo-card with a mallet. Several times.

"Give me that back!" Amber shouted. Nicolas smiled in satisfaction and returned the weapon.

"Great, how will we know if there's another message on there?" James groaned as he inspected the cracked holo-card.

"It doesn't matter. We need to tell the cops!" Ashka said.

"But the guy said he's going to kill them if we do." Lucas protested. "I don't want to lose them...they're cool." I looked at him strangely. Since when does he admit that? It seems like I had matching faces with anyone else. Lucas groaned. "Guys—this isn't a game! Our rangers are gone! The fate of our journey is in the hands of them! If they're gone—we're going home! Do you want to sit in front of a TV all day for the rest of summer?"

"Actually, I would." Zane muttered. He was ignored.

"This is real life, Lucas!" Ashka argued. "We're not heroes! We're just kids—teens! This guy could have thugs! This guy could have weapons!"

"So does Amber." Imogen pointed out. "And she's trained in kicking butt."

"And all the guy wanted was a pokémon battle." Irene muttered. "But...oh I don't know! We have to _walk _all the way to Fortree? Do you guys even know how far that is?"

James pulled up his 'Gear. The blue light was illuminating his face, despite that fact this it was morning and the caf' was perfectly lit. "It's 110 miles, guys. If we walked straight there without stopping, it'd still take 2 days."

"So we're actually going to do this?" Sherry inquired, looking around the table. I looked too. Some were doubtful, like Lucas and Imogen and James. Ashka didn't look so sure either. I always trusted her decision, so whatever she wanted to do, I'd follow. We needed a leader.

I stood up. Everyone looked at me.

"I'm going if Ashka's going." I said. With Ashka with me, I wasn't afraid to go after strangers. I smiled at her, returning her grin. It was beautiful..

I looked to the others, their shocked expressions not phasing me.

Lucas stood up and shook his head. "Hey, if Gerard's in, I'm in. For a guy without a clue right now, I'll trust whatever he says."

"I'm with Lucas." Jun agreed. "We need to save our rangers!"

"Ashka will be our leader." James nodded and stood as well. "She knows how to steer us straight."

"We're going wherever they're going. Right Amber?" Imogen said. Amber shrugged, but her smirk was a sign that she was in.

"...Are you guys sure you want me to lead?" Ashka said hesitantly, her face turning red.

I took her hand and pulled her to stand.

"You may be under a lot of pressure, but you have to say yes. We're all counting on you. Even with Mr. Daniel, you were second in command."

"How do you remember that...?" She whispered, staring at me with glistening blue eyes.

I looked to the ground in embarrassment. I didn't even know what I was saying until I said it. "I don't know. It's an instinct, I guess."

She nodded to my relief. "Then I'll lead us." She turned back to the table. They all looked like they were trying to hold giggles for some odd reason. "It's official. Let's head to Fortree and kick that fancy guy's ass!"

"Yeah!" Everyone chorused—

And finished their breakfast before heading to their rooms to pack.

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka's POV<strong>

Why _me_? Of all the people they could've chosen to lead us to Fortree city, why _me_? I'm no leader. A leader is liked by everyone. I'm not liked by everyone, obviously, because I don't like everyone else. With the exception of Gerard, everyone else just annoys me. I regret not just going on our own journey so all this crap wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have amnesia, and that thing he found...he wouldn't have found it.

Well, I guess I better do my best. Our rangers are on the line. No matter how much they annoyed me, they knew how to get us around. But now we have to rely on ourselves to save them.

Earlier I had found Irene inside the guys' room. I pulled her out immediately so she could start preparing. I wanted to leave before noon. We had _110 _miles to cover—to a hovercraft, it was a walk in the park. It won't be for us who actually _have_ to walk. I feel sorry for Amber since she _still _believes that stilettos are the most travel-savvy kind of footwear.

It was around eleven in the morning and I had sent out everyone but Gerard earlier to gather supplies. I was well aware that there were smaller towns and pit stops on the way, but the less time spent buying stuff with our own money, the faster we get there. I had to be smart with this and made a detailed list of who was getting what, and who was bringing what pokémon. I advised everyone to choose their strongest pokémon to walk with us because that _was _the leadery thing to do. I think. I had to call home and switch around me and Gerard's pokémon. I let Gerard have his Umbreon while my Charizard still sat in her pokéball.

I kept checking back with Umbreon. He was taking this whole "Gerard has amnesia" thing pretty badly. He went to go sulk off in the corner...

I took it badly too—and I still am. In the morning, Gerard always sent me a good morning text to ask me what I dreamt of—even if we were camping directly next to each other or just a room away. I missed the silent communication we had, with sneaky gestures and laughing at the others. I missed how cool it was to have a guy best friend. Right now, he was just completely blank. He was a hollow husk of his old self.

A few minutes later everyone was returning to the 'Center lobby with all the supplies. I started off the checklist as they settled near at the couches with their pokémon.

"I'm going roll call. Say present and tell me if you brought your stuff." I said loudly, pacing around the coffee table in the center of the lounge.

"She's efficient" I heard Imogen whisper.

"Na uh, she's bossy" Sherry muttered back.

"Sherry!" I yelled.

She stumbled in her seat and shrieked, "Sorry! I mean here!"

"Did you and Imogen get the sleeping bags?"

They both nodded. Imogen said, "Mr. Rodolfo never got us any. Now we don't need to share!"

"But I wouldn't mind sharing..." Sherry sang, and sent a wink at Lucas. I almost gagged. Lucas was too busy typing to notice.

"Ok, no. We need ground rules." I stated, glaring at her and her cool red hair. Honestly, I think her only good traits are her looks, and maybe that friendly personally if she loses the stalker-ness. "No flirting, no stalking—no being weird or we're leaving you behind." She pouted and gave me a really frustrated stare. "Also, since we're all dividing the tasks, I'm going to need you two to carry all the sleeping bags...assuming everyone else doesn't want to carry their own."

"Yeah, this is becoming a burden on my back." James agreed. He and everyone else bombarded their bags onto the two who caught them nimbly, yet other bags slipped onto the ground.

"Aww man, the extra weight!" Sherry whined.

"Sleeping bags generally don't add more weight than a pillow." Imogen said. "I'll carry most of them if you want."

"Okay, next..." I muttered, scratching out things on the list. "Amber! You got our defense?"

"Yeah." She shrugged and blew a huge bubble with white gum. I decided to trust her since I could spot half of her arsenal on her belt next to her Ariados's pokéball. Imogen's Cottonee was sitting on her lap and Sherry's Timburr went to hug all the sleeping bags.

"Next—Zane, you bought the water?" I turned to him expectantly. He pointed to the back of his hover chair where the thick metal basket was. Inside were two giant jugs of water and resizable cups. His Delcatty sat below him at his feet. For such a "tough" and shelled guy, he had such _pansy_ pokémon. He said he didn't have any family alive last night so I kind of wonder...where did he leave his pokéballs? I turned to James. "Did you and Irene get the tents?"

"Yes we did. I made sure to calculate the cost to the quality and got the best kind—nylon! Pokémon proof! No claws shall scratch through—WOLVERINE." James went all weird again and started making gestures that made me wonder if he was going to start foaming. The pokémon he chose to bring was his Skarmory and Irene brought her Murkrow.

"I'll hold the poles!" Irene chirped. She was—well—holding the retractable poles. James stared at her. I believe the thoughts going through his head involved Irene pole dancing. Sicko.

"Lucas, you got the food?" I asked, kicking his foot lightly to wake him up from his Facebook-induced trance.

"Yeah, yeah..." He muttered in his "trance" voice, which made his Snover uncomfortable, "I've got enough instant food and sustenance packs to feed an African village..."

"How come I can't hold the food?" James whined, looking at the grocery bags at Lucas's feet longingly.

"Because you'll eat it all!" Irene pointed out.

"You should've bought some berries and fruit." Imogen sighed.

I turned back to the list. "Jun—you bought the flashlights?" Jun was bringing his Whismur along.

"Yep!" He said, rummaging through a plastic bag, "And rechargeable batteries! Look!" He turned on the lights to six flashlights and flashed them into my eyes!

"Turn that off!" I snapped. He quickly turned them all off and put them away. "Okay...back to business...Gerard's got the sugary snacks, since I need airheads...last thing. Pokémon food—Nicolas, you got it?" I looked to him and his Roggenrola. I remembered him always being "attached" to Ms. Megan's belt loops. I wonder how unstable this kid gets?

"YESYESYES Igotthepokemonfood they're tasty want some?" He motorboated and held up a bone-shaped biscuit treat to my face.

"Umm...no...you can keep that." I muttered, pushing it away. "I think we're all done here. Are we ready to go?" I heard murmurs of "yes".

"Ooh, here, I found this in my room." Sherry said. She passed me a card.

Oh, handy, the Summer Trek company credit card.

"Good, let's go!" I said. We all began picking up our bags, ready to head to out to the great outdoors on our own—"Wait, I just remembered. Who needs to go to the bathroom first?"

Everyone dropped their bags and scurried off to the restrooms.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_Man, I really wanted to challenge the Mauville gym...  
><em>3 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **Ugh, I know. I would've totally wiped the floor with the guy.

**Irene Connor **The gym leader is a girl.

**Lucas Taylor **Gyms are starting to lose their guyittude -.-  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Amber Hendrix **Oh yeah? I think you're just scared of being beaten by a girl.

**Lucas Taylor **Psh. Not true :[

**Ashka Storme **Guys, where is **GERARD**?

**Irene Connor **You lost him again?

**Lucas Taylor Jun **is missing too! What the hell man!

**Jun Kirman **kjbsljfsmfhnsvk

**Lucas Taylor **...?

**James Lopreo **I'm connected to their 'Gears. They're at the...outskirts.

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard POV<strong>

My Umbreon had run off when we were about to leave! I chased after him, wondering if he was always like this. I hated that we were delaying the journey. The pack on my back filled with baked and sugary snacks was weighing me down. I scrambled down the moving sidewalks and around hovercrafts until we were nearing the edge of town—

...What's going on?

There were police officers patrolling the walls of the city, walking back and forth with scanners on their belt. Umbreon stopped running and pointed his head at them. With the new law underway, I guess they needed more officers to scan the pokéballs. It seemed so petty to me now. Wait—

Jun was running out the gates! The officers were chasing him, and Umbreon dashed after them! I ran after them. There were four officers chasing Jun, urging for him to stop so they could give him proper permission to go. Jun shook his head and kept running.

"Wait! Jun!" I called after him. I didn't want him getting arrested or worse, and watch him go! He had never been this way—wait—had he? I...I feel like he was always that optimistic guy, so happy that it always annoyed the crap out of me. Like...like at the pokémon contest. When I saw Irene...

My memory blanked there. I groaned and kept running. I realized that there were officers chasing _me _now.

"Jun!" I yelled. He finally heard me and stopped in his tracks, only to be tackled by the four officers. I stopped myself and two other officers on hover boards pushed me over to Jun.

"I told you that we needed to see ID before you pass!" One of the gruff male officers said to both of us. "Minors are not allowed out of town alone with more than one pokémon!"

"This isn't fair!" Jun argued. "We're trainers! One pokémon is like trying to pick your favorite friend!"

"We understand you're upset, but it's the law." Another officer said. They immediately scanned Jun with an X-ray on their tablets and automatically found four pokéballs at the bottom of his bag. They scanned me and found nothing—although they were suspicious to all the snacks.

"This is a warning." The other officer said, jabbing Jun in the chest with a wooden nightstick. "If I see you trying to leave town with more than one pokémon, you'll be under arrest!"

Jun's face became grim but he nodded in understanding. The officers ushered us back to the city gates where Ashka, Lucas, and James stood, watching us. Jun looked totally humiliated but I felt my own face red, despite being the law abiding citizen.

I guess this was one rule that couldn't be loop holed.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I promise this note won't be long :D I know I promised a Gerard chapter-but I couldn't resist! I love Ashka too! Her input was needed...<strong>

**Next chapter! Yes, will also be in Gerard's POV. This will be the travel portion. I thought I could fit the two into the same chapter but I see now that it can't. I have too much planned :D**

**Anyway, since it's a Thursday I might ACTUALLY have time to draw this weekend! I will be drawing the Juniors (exluding Rodolfo's group) in one nice group photo we can all laugh at. Also, next week is my school's homecoming, and I wanted to share that for spirit week I will be painting my face orange and black :D well, its planning. I've never painted my face for school events but I thought it would be a good time to get into the spirit, considering I don't have much time left there :l**

**Darn it, I said SHORT note...to compensate, I will not have one next chapter :P You guys will be happy with that. Hehehe.**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated! :D**


	17. Upwards, Part 2 of 3

**Chapter Sixteen - Upwards, Part 2 of 3  
><strong>_Day 9, around 12 pm, half an hour out of city limits_

**Gerard's POV**

It took almost half an hour to get out of city limits. We all had to join a line of people and get our IDs and bags scanned. It felt like we were leaving an airport and I could tell by everyone's faces that they thought this was ridiculous. Still, no one dare oppose aloud. A lot of other traveling groups, just friends or family to each other, were traveling the same route as us and kept distance. Although all of our pokémon were out, none of us felt safe until that one dad made his Stoutland walk ahead and bark whenever it saw something. The terrain was all country and we passed water-based farms. I wonder why they were flooded.

About an hour in, the families stopped for lunch and we had lost them back on the path. Ashka decided that all the juniors would stay in the front so she could keep watch on them and seniors in the back. The only exception was Nicolas who was in the middle, attached with a leash to Amber's belt loop (although she was wearing a dress, so she had to borrow a sparkly belt).

"Your rack-spotting binoculars spot anything yet?" Sherry asks Lucas from the side of our cluster, bumping her shoulder with his. He looked up from his 'Gear and gave her a strange look. James was looking longingly over to them. I wonder if it's because he wanted a girlfriend. Since he rarely sleeps I doubt he mutters about the girls in his sleep, but I hear _something _at night...

Lucas brought up the binoculars to his eyes and looked up, although Sherry scoffed because of it. He said, "Nah...I see nothing."

I looked up too. The sky was a shade of blue, mixed in with grey and black. There weren't any clouds so there weren't any cloud pokémon. We hadn't reached a foresty-area yet either so I'm sure we wouldn't be snuck up on.

"Let's sing a song to pass the time!" Jun suggested, hopping to the front of the cluster. "Just join in if you know this song! _OHHHHH there once was a SNOWMAN—_"

"Never heard of it." Amber deadpanned, cutting him off mid-song.

"I'm sure it was a good song though." Imogen reassured from beside her.

"Why can't you sing something recent? Like that techno song!" Irene said from the front. "It goes like this. Beep bee boop, beeee..."

"You sound like a dying computer." Lucas muttered. James gasped at the thought of it. I was starting to think that that he cared more about robots than real people...

"Wasn't there someone who used to carry a speaker-vest and plug their iPod into it?" Ashka asked, looking up in thought. I tried to think of it too, but I came up short. I looked over to James and he looked guilty of doing something. The others were just shrugging. "Well, it would've been handy if one of you did." Ashka muttered.

We weren't making good time I noticed as an hour passed. We had probably only gotten about 5 miles through and you could still see skyscrapers from Mauville in the distance, with hovercrafts flying in and out and above into a smog-filled sky. The mile markers on the side of the road weren't making time fly any faster either. According to a few signs, it would be another twenty miles before we reached a pit stop.

I liked to watch the pokémon hop along as we walked. Sherry's Timburr was very friendly, much like its owner, but that frightened Jun's gentle Whismur. Whismur's ears would twitch every now and then. Zane's Delcatty trotted along beside his hover chair, liking to be near her trainer more than with the other pokémon. Nicolas's Roggenrola was in his arms and being tightly hugged. I wonder if he thought that his pokémon was going to be taken away. Imogen's Cottonee was riding the winds near us. The only other pokémon out from their pokéballs was Irene's Murkrow, sitting on her head, and my Umbreon, trailing behind me.

I looked back at my Umbreon a few times. I wonder what it knew. Was it even _mine_? I have no connections with this thing. This...animal. Was it a pet to me? A slave? A guard animal? The only thing that deemed it was mine was the pokéball.

"There's a picnic area a mile from here." James said through the thick silence, showing Ashka a map projection of the area.

"Can we eat now?" Jun asked eagerly, which startled his Whismur beside him.

"FOOD!" James agreed in a barbarian voice.

Lucas felt the backpack on his back. "Hmm. No, the food is speaking to me. It says it does not want to be eaten."

"But—sustenance pack!" James cried to Lucas's pack. Strange thing to do. It made me smile a little.

"If I don't eat, I turn into a cannibal." Amber muttered.

"Make a decision Miss Leader!" Sherry said mockingly to Ashka. Ashka checked the time and the distance. On the map, we had hardly moved the arrow a centimeter from Mauville.

She sighed. "Yeah, let's stop there. They might have bathrooms."

"Hooray!" Irene cheered, and high-fived Jun.

While everyone began chatting, I noticed a faint beeping from behind me...in my bag. But all that was in there was snacks. I didn't dare probe what else could be found in there. I'm sure it's nothing.

* * *

><p>We'd been walking straight after a short lunch for another full hour. The sun was starting to droop pretty early.<p>

"Are we lost?" Irene asks uncertainly to the sounds of the woodlands. There were sounds like _ooh ooh_ and _aah ahh_, like monkey cries. There was the hiss of insect wings vibrating together and Taillow cries. It was so humid around here with canopy trees blocking the sun that you could feel the atmosphere condensing on your skin. The smell of the city was gone and we could smell a jungle.

I looked to Ashka who had yet to answer the question. She was flipping through the GPS but her face was still calm. I think she was nervous.

"Where _are _we?" Lucas said out loud, staring at the ends of the giant leafs hanging from nearby smooth-barked trees.

"This place is cool. Hey, someone get a picture of me with this plant!" Jun said. He ran over into the mossy part of the area, off the road, next to a giant red-hued rafflesia flower. I don't know how I knew what it was, I just felt like it was familiar. I've seen one before.

In Ashka's backyard.

Wha—

Ashka's...backyard? How do I remember that? I...I don't even know what my own house looks like...

I was suspicious to whatever was suddenly popping into my head. I nudged Ashka, the only one still walking. She noticed everyone had stopped to take a seat on nearby rocks as Jun, Irene, and Lucas took group photos with the big flower. My nose wrinkled from the smell. I couldn't place my finger on the smell. It was just something rotten.

"How do you work this camera?" Zane asked, holding Jun's 'Gear with confusion and twisting it side to side, probably looking for the capture button.

"He doesn't know how to use a camera?" Amber asks in general, looking thoroughly confused. Imogen and Sherry shrugged. Nicolas was sitting on the ground and petting his Roggenrola.

A flash came from the camera just as Lucas was coming over to show Zane how to use it.

"Aww man, I blinked!" Jun whined.

"Imogen's Cottonee got stuck in the picture!" Irene accused. Imogen apologized and returned her pokémon with a blush.

Hmm. There was that beeping again, coming from my bag. I pushed the strap of the pack off my shoulder and let it fall to the ground. I think a few Oreos got crushed.

"Come on Whismur, it's just a flower. Here, we'll sit on it together." I could hear Jun gently coaxing his pokémon to take a picture with the big flower. Irene and Lucas were now back with us on the road, complaining about the smell of it. Jun was too nice to say anything about it. He's always nice. Like...like back home, when he used to sit with me at lunch when Ashka was sick. God, he was so annoying. But I was always grateful to at least have someone blabbing to me, even if it had to be him. I looked guiltily back down to my bag. I can't believe I did that.

"New profile picture!" Lucas said, probably using one of the photos they just took as his Facebook picture.

"Ooh! Cute! When did you take it?" Sherry said, probably commenting to it online. I don't see how they have wifi here...

James stood in the frame as Zane took another picture of Jun and his Whismur sitting on the rafflesia flower. "Weird...this thing looks alive."

"It's a flower. Of course it's alive." Jun shrugged in response.

The beeping became louder in my bag. I zipped open the front, dug through the snacks, and felt around the bottom. I touched something that felt like plastic, yet sleek. I had no idea what it was and it was frightening me. I pulled it out of my bag.

...A remote?

"Hey, that's Mr. Daniel's capture styler. Where did you get that?" Ashka said, coming closer to stare at the device in awe. I had no idea what I was holding. I didn't know how to turn it on either, so I just tapped the screen like the other devices I've seen my friends use. Nothing happened. I started messing with the dials on the side and the screen clicked on.

Through the beeping, the screen said this.

Vatonage V.9 Capture Styler  
>Demo Version<br>ID: 009273  
>Daniel Bay<br>Uses: Capture Level 1-5 pokémon  
>Detect hostile pokémon<br>Can only hold 1  
>Cannot use Poké assist<br>Cannot use poké radar

"How did it get in my bag?" I muttered aloud.

"This is strange." Ashka muttered. "First our leaders go missing, then they get kidnapped by psychos, and then we find their stylers in your bag. And why _your _bag? I mean, sure, you're in Ranger class, but with your condition..." Her frown was sympathetic and I knew she was embarrassed to bring it up.

"Sorry." I say. "I know I'm useless right now. I'm trying. Would you like to use it?" I hold out the styler, not worthy in my hands. It was so shiny and perfect and had no scratches at all. It was gold and black with a nicely polished screen and simple buttons and knobs. Mr. Daniel really had taken care of his things.

"No. You keep it." She shook her head and pushed the styler back at me gently. "I trust you to use that thing wisely. Maybe the feel of another styler will reboot your memory."

I looked back at the styler. The one that I had was a school styler, and I could only capture friendly pokémon. Wait...I could only capture _friendly_ pokémon? Well...gosh, that sucks. I wonder why I chose this class...

The beeping from the styler silenced once I tapped the screen and opened the message.

_Warning!  
>Level 2 Threats<br>10-20 feet_

My eyebrows flew up and it felt like I had to keep myself up to collapse. Something was about to happen and no one else _but me _knew. I looked back and forth, looking for some sort of animal that was going to attack, but all I saw were our own pokémon. I crouched down to my Umbreon.

"Sense anything?" I asked it, although I had a feeling that Umbreon's didn't have the power to sense things like this.

Jun, Irene, and Lucas were all sitting on the rafflesia flower and going through the hundreds of pictures they had taken. Was I the only one who saw it shift a little? And the rocks everyone was sitting on, am I the only one who sees the arms and the slits for eyes?

I realized it a bit too late. "Guys!" I shout,

All at once the rocks rose from the ground on their own stubby legs, and the rafflesia rose from the ground. We were surrounded by a group of Gravelers and a pissed looking Vileplume! Aww man, now I _really _wish I knew how to use this styler!

Everyone was now on their feet and readying their pokémon, but I could see the clear fear struck upon their faces when they knew they only had one pokémon each.

"Crap, we're in trouble!" Irene whined, scurrying to the middle ground where there were no pokémon. Imogen and Amber were backing to the middle and Ashka and I were backing too, hoping for no attacks. Our backs met Jun and Lucas's backs, and Zane was hovering above our heads in safety.

"Amber, do something!" Ashka said, looking to her with a sort of angry-pleading look.

"Why am I the only one doing something? Ya'll got legs!" Amber snorted back. She pulled out something from her belt—a whip—and cracked it at the Graveler. "Stay back! Back! You guys are lame excuses for pokémon!"

"It's not working! They're rock types!" Imogen pointed out.

"I'm scared!" Sherry screamed.

"If we all team up this will go smoothly...OH HELL THE VILEPLUME IS USING STUN SPORE!" James pointed up in the air where orange particles began to fall.

"Cover your nose!" Ashka demanded. We all did as so, using the collars of our tops.

"Frequency use Stomp on Vileplume!" Jun said with the hood of his hoodie wrapped around his nose. Whismur shook its head and shivered at our feet.

"Useless!" Amber seethed, kicking Jun's Whismur. I can't believe she did that!

"Hey, don't kick my pokémon!" Jun yelled, shoving Amber.

"Ugh, boy don't touch me!" She screamed, "I will hack off the arms of your pokémon if I had to!"

"Fight the pokémon, not each other!" Ashka yelled.

"Why don't _you _do something?" Lucas said. His fingers were twitching from the orange dust on his hands as he typed. I looked at my 'Gear where it opened to Facebook.

**Lucas Taylor **_Getting attacked by Vileplume! HELPP!  
><em>2 people like this

...Strange.

"Fine! I will! Since all of you are too lazy to make your pokémon fight!" Ashka yelled, reaching for her pocket. The Gravelers came rolling towards us! We all scattered, pokémon following in haste. Vileplume was stomping through the moss and joining us on the road, wearing a very ugly face.

"Umbre!" I heard my pokémon shriek from below me. I had no idea what to do, I don't know its moves! I was so confused I just stood there watching everyone hide. Amber was still cracking her whip at the Gravelers to no effect, while Zane still watched from the sky in interest. James was hiding in the trees with his Skarmory and Lucas was still typing in the madness.

"Charizard come out!" Ashka cried as she tossed up the pokéball. I caught Zane's eyes widen and he quickly moved his hover chair into some trees. Ashka's tall lizard emerged and roared loudly, causing me to wince. The Gravelers caught site of it and ran away into the forest. Vileplume stood valiantly, ready to fight.

I looked down to Mr. Daniel's styler and at the screen that was beeping again. It was Vileplume that it kept detecting. The little rod on the side popped up and fell into my hand. It snapped open to its full length, so I assumed it was a baton. Instructions came up on the screen.

Press big button.

Aim. Spin baton.

Unpress big button.

Well, seemed simple enough.

"Charizard use Flamethrower!" Ashka commanded. Charizard's roar echoed throughout the road and I wished it would shut up, knowing that we'd attract more attention. Charizard opened its jaws and craned its neck—

"Pluuume!" Vileplume shrieked and tipped its head so its flower was facing us. A tornado of pink petals exploded from the spout, knocking into Charizard's oncoming Flamethrower! I had thought the petals would burn or something, but it didn't. It stopped the flames and scratched up Charizard pretty bad.

Wow. I didn't know Vileplume's could smirk.

"You're mine!" Amber growled and ran at Vileplume, handy light saber ready. Vileplume's eyes narrowed, and starts twisting its body like it's shrugging off something—is it spitting toenails? No wait, I believe that's razor leaf—it sliced right into the saber, and on Amber! Her cheeks became cut and so was her cardigan. She winced and covered her cheek with her hand.

"Well, there went our secret weapon..." James muttered, standing with Irene and Nicolas. Oh, it looks as though Nicolas detached himself from Amber when she started getting crazy. Now he was attached to James's belt loops. Weird.

Vileplume puffed out orange dust again.

"Not again!" Lucas whined. "Snover use Icebeam!" Lucas's Snover ran into the orange dust, then stopped and tripped. It couldn't move anymore.

My 'Gear beeped and I looked to my other hand.

**Lucas Taylor **_Aww crap. My Snover is FUBAR :'(  
><em>Irene Connor likes this

"Ariados go!" Amber tossed up a pokéball and snatched it forcefully from the air. A giant creepy pink spider appeared beside Ashka's Charizard. The two pokémon worked together to attack Vileplume, but I didn't feel safe when both eventually became paralyzed.

"What do we do now?" Sherry shrieked. "You guys suck in the wild! I knew we should've stayed in Mauville!"

"Shaddup!" Ashka snapped. "No one was stopping you from staying there!"

I didn't like the violent words, the frustrated looks, and the way we were handling that damn Vileplume. I looked back at the styler. I could use this, right?

Press button, aim, twirl, unpress. Just like in class.

Yeah...just like in class.

"What's he doing?" I hear Amber yell as I speed forward towards Vileplume. Ugh, Jun, it's your fault this thing is angry. You freakin' sat on it.

"Gerard, stop! It's dangerous!" Ashka says, but I shake my head and aim the baton.

"I'm going to stop this thing...somehow." I mutter. I heard some of the others say that I'm crazy. That I'm just some clueless dude with cool hair. That trying to battle my amnesia is just going to be a burden.

But I remember. I remember...some things. And some things you don't need to know, like operating a capture styler. But that's mostly because the instructions were right there guiding me along.

I pointed the baton and pressed the button. The end lit up like a sparkler. _Wow_.

"I see what he's trying to do!" Ashka said. "We've got to help! Amber, distract Vileplume!"

"Don't tell me what to do." Amber scoffed. Nevertheless she followed. "Ariados, a Signal Beam to the sky!" She pointed upwards.

"Wait, I'm the coordinator! Distractions are my specialty!" Sherry said, clambering over. "Timburr, a flurry of sparkly Comet Punches!"

Ariados spewed a multicolored beam into the sky, snaking like dripping water. Timburr dances around, lit up fists glazing across the air. Vileplume stopped to stare in fascination. I smirked, finding an opening.

I twirled the baton. Rings of light shot out of the sparking end, enveloping Vileplume like a lasso. A sound of a musical ladder going up sounded from the styler in my hand, and I continued to twirl my wrist until the note of the music wouldn't go any higher. I released my finger from the button and the rings absorbed in Vileplume. Vileplume let out a big breath and then collapsed to sit on its butt.

A moment of silence to see if anything else would happen.

"He did it!" Ashka gasped in amazement. Her brilliant smile flashed towards me and I couldn't help but grin back. "Gerard, you did it! Wow!" She ran at me and flung her arms around me. I accepted the hug and looked down at my 'Gear which had beeped again.

**Jun Kirman **tagged **Gerard Eckhart **and **Ashka Storme **in photo "_HUGGS! :3_"

...Oh great.

We pulled apart has Zane lowered his hover chair to the ground a great distance from Ashka's Charizard. "Okay, okay, we've had our sappy hugs. Can you put that _thing _away now?" He pointed accusingly at her Charizard.

"Touchy." She muttered with a roll of her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry's POV<strong>

Life is great! I loved the people we travel with, the beauty of trees, and the feeling of freedom! I'm out of my parents' grip! Away! Free! I twirled along the path with the others, barely running into Amber and her stilettos. Gosh, how are her feet not hurting yet? I looked to the others, sending my dimply smile. Lucas didn't return it and my optimism ended.

Argh. That asshole. PAY ATTENTION TO ME. I wore short shorts for a _reason_!

It's been long since that ugly encounter with that smelly Vileplume and we were still walking the road, nowhere near a pit stop. I'm tired of walking. The second I start complaining though, someone stops me and tells me to shut up. I still love them though!

I looked at the sky. Ah, sunset. I hardly ever see that in Nimbasa. There's so much light pollution there that the sky is practically blurred out in rainbow. I like this calm color, without the explosion of yellow and pink and purple. I like feeling at ease.

I wonder how the others were doing. I had long returned my little Timburr, knowing she had little stamina to provide when walking. Amber's Ariados walked instead and I just couldn't look at it. It gave me the creeps. Imogen's Cottonee was in its pokéball too. Nicolas returned his Roggenrola because his arms were getting tired and he refused to let it walk on its own.

The other campers were cool too. I'd gotten used to Ashka, always bossy and in charge. I assume someone had to be, but GOD, she always had something to say when it came to Gerard. And what's with that guy anyway? The others are saying he has amnesia. I think it's just some front. I think he's just acting that way so I can't flirt with him. Grr.

Then there was that James guy, who puts his nose to the 'Gear, literally. Gross. Then there were those new kids we met, or at least in person, Jun and Lucas and Irene and that hover chair kid. I think Jun's cool, but whenever I try to talk to him he's too friendly. Yuck. Irene's got some creepy vibe going on and whenever she talks, she doesn't stop, like a motorboat. I know how that story goes. I don't even try to talk to Lucas—just wink and continue on your way. Eventually he'll say yes to a movie or something!

Oh, and then that Zane guy. He doesn't talk much. He just sits back and watches. WEIRDO.

The latest sign we passed was, _Ghile Village, 10 miles_. Yay! That's soon!

"...Are we there yet?" I ask.

Ashka groans. "QUIT ASKING THAT!"

"We've only gotten about 30 or so miles from Mauville. We've still got two more waffle days ahead of us." James said from the other side of the cluster. Eew, stay over there tech-boy.

"Waffle days?" Jun asks.

"I didn't say waffle!"

"Yeah you did." Almost all of us chorus, which makes me giggle. Don't you think it's funny when all of us say the same thing at the same time? It's like we've got conjoint heads or something. Hehe. It's so cool.

We all walked in silence again. There really wasn't much to do, except, well, walk. And maybe play a game of I-Spy, but that game was so ancient, our ancestors were practically the masters of the game.

"My PokéGear just picked up transmission from another one a mile away." James said. "OH WOW ITS FAST! ZOOM ZOOM!"

"...What?" Jun turned around and looked at him strangely.

"It's probably just some guy on a motorcycle." Amber waved it off.

"It's coming right up the hill!" James said, pointing forward. I gazed up the hill and saw something bouncing.

Oh—gross! That girl's fashion sense is atrocious!

I believe we all just paused on the road as a girl hopped towards us all slow-mo. She had periwinkle hair, dyed like mine probably, with exotic pink feather extensions. Her face was glittered with painted-on periwinkle stars and her eye lashes were NEON YELLOW. She wore a fat blue ribbon-hair band on her head too. The freak had white glittery WINGS on her back too, the ones you find in costume stores, and wore some angel getup—white corset with puffy short sleeves, white petticoat skirt, and white lacey gloves. To top it all off, she was wearing white gravity boots.

My God. Cosplayers...

"Hello travelers!" She was waving at us. Oh God, she's talking to us.

"She's...weird looking..." I whispered to Imogen beside me.

"She looks pretty adorable to me." Imogen shrugged, saying it in a tone referring to the girl as a kinder.

"Damn...Halloween came early." I heard Lucas mutter.

"Hi!" Jun waved back first. The girl hopped over to us, drifting slow from the gravity boots. I remember having those when I was a kid. It was fun until I started drifting towards the sharp stuff.

"I am from Ghile Village! Hello!" She said, bowing. Her glittery wings tinkled. She must be wearing a stupid Milktank bell somewhere. "My name is Miyoko! I have been sent to make sure that you get to our village safely. We're experiencing tourist problems because the wolves keep eating them." She made it seem like it was an everyday thing with her smile.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Ashka shrugged. "We're kind of in a hurry to get to Fortree City."

"Fortree?" Miyoko gasped. I realize now that she wore makeup too—glittery lip-gloss and blush. Ugh. What a tramp. Miyoko said, "Please grace me with a battle, great traveling trainers! No one ever presents a challenge at home!" She looked at everyone pleadingly, probably wondering who was going to step up. Definitely not me.

"Who wants to battle her?" Ashka asked around.

"I would, but...I'm busy." James said. He was sucking on a sustenance pack. I hope he gets fat or clogs that straw, or something. It's just weird.

"Pass." Lucas said. Aww, poor baby. He's such a sore loser from when Jun beat him.

"I don't want to litter the ground when I beat her sparkly ness." Amber muttered delicately. Miyoko cocked her head to the side innocently.

"I'd do it, but I don't feel like it." Irene shrugged.

"Frequency is still recovering from earlier..." Jun muttered sadly. It seemed like no one wanted to battle her.

"Oh...If 'tis a bother...I'll just...go..." Miyoko muttered, digging her clunky boots into the asphalt.

"I'll battle you." This came from Gerard. I, and others, looked at him strangely.

"But Gerard, you don't remember anything." Ashka protested meekly.

"Doesn't mean I don't know how to battle." Gerard shrugged.

Umm, yeah, I think it does buddy-boy.

"Yay!" Miyoko squeals. "I'll set up the battlefield!" She skipped over to the side of the road into the grass. She pulled a top out of her pocket. I recognized it as one of those instant-battlefield types. She activated it, and it spun on the ground while projecting a field with lines on the grass. She and Gerard took a spot on the boxes and I sat on a rock to watch. I made sure it wasn't a Graveler first.

"Who knows how to referee?" James asked. "I took a class! But I uh...forgot."

"I'll do it." Zane moved his chair to the sidelines. I wonder where the guy learned. And why. Usually we have robots to do that. "This is a two-on-two..."

"We only have one pokémon." Gerard reminded.

"Oh. This is a one-on-one...no time limit...start."

Wow...this guy is the life of the party.

"Claydol you're up!" Miyoko thrusts a white pokéball into the sky. A large black clay-pokémon with freaky eyes and constantly twists limbs appeared. Eew, it's so freaky looking.

Gerard's eyes became alert. He tossed a pokéball onto the grass. Umbreon popped out, all pretty and ominous. The pokéball flew back to Gerard's feet. I wonder how this is going to go, considering he doesn't remember a thing. I could hear him from here. He just realized what his pokémon's moves were after a scan from the 'dex.

I took out my own and educated myself. Oh, damn. Moonlight, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, and Toxic. None of these moves were offense. I can see why he's pretty angry with himself.

"This is going on my YouTube." Lucas said. He began filming. I started fluffing my hair in case the camera came in my direction.

"You may have the first move!" Miyoko calls across the grass.

Gerard shook his head. "Ladies first."

Ugh, if they kept at it, this battle would never end. I hope this Miyoko chick is strong so we can end this already. Actually—I wouldn't mind sitting a while. Never mind about the battle then.

"Okay!" Miyoko hops up, hovers for a second, and then lands. "Claydol use Rock Tomb!" Chunks of the ground rose from the ground. They were chucked at Umbreon.

"Err...dodge." Gerard said. Umbreon had already began moving before he said anything. "...Confuse Ray!" I closed my eyes. Last time I saw a confuse ray, it made me walk into a door! And Amber laughed at me because of it!

"PRETTY LIIGGGGGGHTS!" I heard Nicolas gasp from the left.

"Claydol!" Miyoko called in worry. I opened my eyes again. Claydol was...smashing itself into the ground! That's different...

"Umbreon use Toxic." Gerard said. He didn't have any options here, so poisoning his foe was pretty smart. Girlie with sparkles and wings was frantic when Umbreon spit purple gunk into Claydol's eyes. Eew!

"Claydol use Confusion!" Miyoko shouted. Claydol tried to attack, with its arms spinning and a pink outline surrounding Umbreon, but then it stopped.

"Umbreon is a dark-type. Psychic moves have no effect." James reminded from the sidelines. Well _duh_! That's one of the first things you learn in kindergarten! Flash cards. Pink moves to purple moves equals X! Just like when you turn over the Eevee with the water stone, the other side is a Vaporeon! Just like magic!

"Fine then! Claydol use Rock Tomb!"

Claydol smacked itself in the face with chunks of mud. It led out a manly moan, really ugly sounding, and then fell out of the air. Miyoko hopped to her Claydol and sprayed it with what looked like Antidote.

"Fine! You win!" She said, sniffing. Ugh, this battle was lame.

I caught Gerard smiling and rubbing behind his Umbreon's ears. I watched with envy. That pokémon was so lucky.

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard's POV<strong>

We skipped Ghile Village just for the sake of ditching that Miyoko girl. She had a cool costume and all, and she was really pretty, but everyone else agreed that they didn't want to divulge into anymore of the weirdness in that town. Strangely enough, when we passed the exit, I could hear the faint sound of fighting wolves. Needless to say we decided to walk faster for the next few miles.

We came upon a problem about an hour later.

A fork in the road.

"So uh...which one do we follow?" Lucas asked.

"We never did establish if we were lost before." Irene muttered from the front. Everyone turned to the back where me and Ashka were. I turned to her as well, hoping we weren't lost. There was no sign to distinguish which road to follow. On the right went deeper into the forest, and on the left was nice and thinned out that traveled uphill.

"I admit, we were lost for a few minutes." Ashka muttered. The horrid expressions on everyone's face made me want to smuggle Ashka away into the woods so no one would hurt her. Off into the darkness where no one would find her, or hurt her, or take her away...from me.

"So we're _lost_?" Amber spat.

"We took a short cut." Ashka snapped back. She showed everyone the GPS. Her finger motioned across the normal route. "We cut through the forest, where we found that Vileplume, and that cut off at least an hour of walking! I did the right thing!"

"Lying to us is not the right thing!" Amber argued. "You kept us in the dark! A real leader wouldn't do that!"

"Look, I got us this far, and that's all that matters!"

"I want a change in leaders!"

This caused all of us to be silent. I don't know if I'd trust anyone else but Ashka to lead.

"Okay okay, let's think this through..." James said, coming in between the two glaring ladies. "We've traveled about 30 miles safely..."

"What about the Vileplume encounter?" Lucas reminded.

"Yeah, that was kind of scary..." Jun muttered, rubbing his arms.

James shrugged mildly and continued. "We've got two paths to choose from. According to the GPS, they both come back together in about 60 miles. It doesn't matter which one we choose."

"Forest." Amber says.

"Hill." Ashka states at the same time.

They glare at each other again, the hatred seething off of both of them. I felt so afraid to just poke one, because they might just attack me like a pokémon.

"Maybe we should just split then." I mutter. Yet, everyone looks at me as though they heard me perfectly. I continued speaking. "We'll meet again in 60 miles. That's pretty much a full day of walking. Maybe after then you two will cool down." And maybe respect each other.

"Fine. I like that idea." Amber said, crossing her arms. "I'll lead half, you lead the other."

"Fine!" Ashka said. "Whose going with who?"

This became the moment where everyone had to choose sides. Amber stood to the right, Ashka to the left. Everyone was in the middle, unsure who to follow. Going with Amber automatically meant you were protected, but with Ashka...she just had a better head on her shoulders.

I already knew my heart belonged to Ashka.

I sidled over to her side, and her smile made me smile back. We waited for everyone to choose their sides.

Imogen and Sherry would never abandon Amber. They immediately joined her side, and they became the inseparable trio once again. We lost Lucas to Amber, and Jun automatically followed him. I never realized how hard it was to choose between Ashka and Amber. Join the smart kids, or the popular kids.

James came with us on our side. So did Irene. Zane went over to Amber's side, which pretty much meant we'd have to carry our own water now. All that was left was Nicolas, still in the middle, with no leash attached. He could choose wherever he wanted, and I'm sure he just wanted to be split in half.

"Nicolas, come." Amber demanded as if he was a pokémon.

"No, Nicolas is coming with me." Ashka said. "He needs someone responsible watching over him."

"He's been with us longer! He's coming with us!" Sherry shouted. Before I knew it Sherry was holding Nicolas's left arm, and Ashka his right. They were pulling him side to side like tug-o-war, and I'm sure this was hurting him mentally.

"He's coming with US!"

"No, us!"

"Us!"

"Us!

"Nicolas, who would you rather travel with?" Sherry said, "With your loyal friends, _us_, or with the bossy ones like her?"

"I'm not bossy! I make sure everything is running smoothly!" Ashka shot back.

"Like a boss!" Sherry retorted.

"I—I can't—" Nicolas started, but his mouth instantly shut as he was pulled again.

"Guys, stop pulling him—" James warned,

"He's not a puppet—" Lucas added worryingly,

"_STOP_!" Nicolas screamed.

We all froze once again. His arms were dropped. He was starting to cry and sniffle and rub at his eyes. Sherry bit her lip and backed away, and even Amber looked sorry.

"I'm sorry Nicolas...we just...we want the best for you..." Ashka whispered.

Nicolas shook his head. "I'll go my own way."

When he started to walk, Imogen and Amber instantly stopped him.

"We can't let you do that." Amber said, shaking her head. She looked ashamed to be the cause of his strained arms. "You're our friend. If letting you travel with them keeps you safe and stable...then so be it. I let you go."

"But..." Nicolas seemed lost when she latched his leash to Ashka's belt.

"It's better this way." Ashka said, thanking Amber with a smile. Amber turned away with a scowl, making it clear that this was a onetime thing.

After we split supplies, swapping water and food and sleeping bags, we split paths. It was hard to look back. Nicolas was quiet the rest of the walk, but James and Irene kept him company.

When it was too dark to walk anymore, we set up camp a few steps away from the road. As I sat in my sleeping bag, familiarity washed over me.

I'd done this before...Hadn't I? Yeah...with Ashka. I looked over to her in her sleeping bag.

She always had my back...and I'll always have hers.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to <strong>_Shadow of Eckhart_**, **_Autumn Rainfall_**, **_Zokolov_**, **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, and **_KingofStories01_** for reviewing last chapter. We passed the 100 review mark! Woo!**

**I know I said no authors note last chapter, but I have important news.**

**1. This "Upwards" chapter has changed to a 3-part arc, because I realized as I was writing this that 2 chapters weren't enough. So next chapter is the last of the POVs.**

**2. Next week will not have an update. BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING-I'm sorry, I have to. I have 3-4 projects that I desperately need to finish before next week (since its due/quarter is ending) and writing hasn't given me a chance to finish it. BUT. I will update around the 28th, so hopefully you all will forgive me! Plus I might actually get around to drawing for Eastward. I promise not to abandon the story!**

**Thanks for reading and understanding! ^_^**


	18. Upwards, Part 3 of 3

**Chapter Seventeen - Upwards, Part 3 of 3  
><strong>_Wednesday, Day 10 of traveling, Mossdeep Research Facility floor B3_

There were four grainy, large papers hanging on the wall opposite of Serena's bed. The rustic painting, what once a was a forest now invaded by Grinch-like smirking foxes, which hung there previously was now sitting on the floor propped up against an empty can of black paint. Serena sat on her bed and analyzed the four works of art that she had composed until midnight last night.

The first two were very crude, chicken scratch sketches that was not worthy of hanging in any museum she was familiar with. The first was of her, or at least what she depicted with a mechanical pencil, and her pokémon. The second was of herself tearing apart.

Last night when sketching it, she was bursting to tears. The droplets were at the bottom left corner of the paper where her signature would've been. Serena now snarled at the happy first image, snatched it off the wall, and tore it in half. The second one, she did the same. She felt a little better, but it was the sound of tearing that she liked.

She sat on her bed again and stared at the remaining two papers. The third thing she had drawn was actually pretty good in her opinion, and she had actually spent some time coloring and shading it with chalky pastels. Her fingernails still held the remnants of the smudging and scratching. All in all, the portrait was of nothing. She had hoped it would form into something as she colored, but it was just a confetti mess now. She took down the portrait, crumpled it, and tossed it into the trash chute with the others.

The last painting, that was the one she was proud of. This was the one she had spent all night trying to finish, knowing that her vision would fade if she slept on it.

She did her best. In anime-style, she drew all of her friends from the journey, all with their reactions to when they saw her erupt with ice. Some were shocked—some were amazed—Amber, as always, was stoic and unimpressed and Nicolas had just blanked out—but it was James's expression that pained her the most. He knew her secret the whole time. He had the know it all expression.

She smudged the pastel on his skin, adding pink from the remaining chalk on her fingers. Now he was blushing.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" She screamed, her wings erupting from her back. "I can't take this! I! NEED! OUT!" She squeezed her palms, flicked her wrists, and her nails became claws. She went wild. She ripped through the walls, through the sheets of her bed, through the painting of her friends. She froze the bathroom, the light fixture, and unleashed a Hyper Beam at the door.

_Knock knock._

"You have the decency to knock while I'm angry!" Serena shouted at the door. Mr. Bay had it open and peered into her wrecked suite with eyebrows raised.

"I like how you redecorated things in here." He commented.

"GET OUT!" She screamed. The steam had left her and she reverted back to her human form. No mask, no wings, no claws. Just a Serena with tears sliding down her cheeks. _God, I'm such a cry baby!_

"No,_ you_ get out." He said. She didn't understand and just stood there within the ripped shreds of her room. "You heard me. Go. You're free."

"You're lying." She whispered.

"No, I'm not. Our research with you is complete. You are free. So whatever screw ups you do with your powers, you're on your own. You're not tied to us anymore."

She thought she'd be elated to hear this news, but her bare feet didn't move. She didn't have anywhere to go. No one remembered her anymore.

"Well? Get out. I thought you'd be faster than this honestly." Mr. Bay set her camera and pouch-shirt onto the bedside table. "Here, I thought you might like these back." He went back to the door, but he stopped at the frame. His fingers lingered at the metal. "Everyone will start remembering you now. We can't restore what we've deleted from the internet, but mankind can restore whatever we've masked in their brains." He said. "There's no such thing as memory loss."

"Wait," She said before he left her for good. "Does this mean everyone will remember my powers?"

"No—that is the one advantage to the flash-memory-mask. It makes everything that we wanted to delete, seem like a dream. It'll be like a doubt. No one will think about it." He took his hand off the door and turned his head, nodded at her. "It was nice working with you Miss Valliya."

It was now silent in Serena's room as she stood alone. She put her camera down on the floor and took her shirt-pouch. It held so many memories, so many attachments. It was so useful too.

She ripped it in half and tossed it.

On her way out of her suite with all of her clothes and belongings, she smashed the big camera with one foot and continued without second thought. She wanted to start fresh and continue that journey.

The problem was finding everyone.

* * *

><p>"Don't—no—it's so pointy—AHH! NO! Don't touch me with that!"<p>

"Daniel..."

Daniel and Megan were in a private spa room, both with their own massagers. One of the staff was nearing Daniel's foot with a needle while Megan just watched while laying on the other cot next to his, on her stomach and covered with a towel. Her hair was also wrapped in a towel and her Flygon was sitting on the floor with Pita playing with toddler puzzles.

"Get that needle away from me!" Daniel squealed horrifically.

"Be a man! Face acupuncture with a smile!" Megan cheered him on.

"_No_!" Daniel shook his head, his black layer-y hair smacking his eyes. "Just because _you _can sit still with a hundred needles jabbed into your feet does not mean _I _can!"

Megan turned her head to look at her feet kicking back and forth at the end of the cot. Oh, it did seem that there were many needles poking out from her foot. She completely forgot they were there.

"You're a guy! Acupuncture is nothing to you!" She shot back.

"I don't like pain or handle it well!" He whined. "I'll take the cucumber facial and risk being called a weenie if that means I don't get the masochist treatment!"

"I'm not a masochist..." She muttered with a roll of her eyes. "And fine. You don't have to get the acupuncture treatment."

He let out a sigh of relief.

"Hurry, do it!"

"YOW!"

A tiny tear fell from one of Daniel's eyes as he lay paralyzed on his cot. It seemed over dramatic to Megan, but he felt like he was about to die from that little poke to the heel. When he looked at the needle in his foot, he nearly fainted again. The guilty acupuncturist whistled and took his box of sharp objects out of the brightly lit room.

"Pan!" Pita cried out in victory as she placed the last puzzle piece into its spot. Flygon huffed in annoyance and moved the puzzle aside and brought out another box, determined to win one game.

"Daniel, you alright?" Megan asked in concern, turning her head from the pillow. He muffled a yes. She smiled and reached over to rub his shoulder in comfort.

_I should feel bad, _she thought to herself, staring around the room of vertically striped wallpaper. _I'm relaxing in a spa while the kids are doing God knows what..._Said room in spa contained several things—a metal rack of towels, fancy soaps and lotions and perfumes, a door to the sauna room, a TV at the ceiling so they only had to stare directly up to see, and a big window opposite of the cots that showed full view of the ocean side.

"How do I get this thing out?" Daniel muttered, reaching for his foot. He really didn't like the feel of the thing in there.

"You shouldn't do that. You could hurt yourself." She warned.

"More than it already does? Feh. I'm taking the risk." He sat up, the towel falling, revealing that he was shirtless and only wearing polka dot boxers. He brought his foot to his face and pulled on the needle, wincing at how gross it felt. A second later the needle was out and he tossed it into the trash chute.

"Eew. I hope some pokémon doesn't touch that with your foot fungus on it." She teased as he settled back onto the cot.

"Why would a pokémon be scouring through a spa's trashcan?" He inquired, ignoring the fungus comment.

"Why wouldn't it? There's a lot of food that they throw out that could go to use." She shrugged. "Where do you think the kids are?"

"Let me track my Styler." He said, reaching for the tablet on the cot-side table. After logging on online and going through the map of Hoenn, he found the blinking arrow on the screen. It was halfway through the route from Mauville to Fortree. "Wow! They've gotten pretty far in a day."

"You think we should go shoot more holo-scenes with Daryl so the kids will know we're safe?"

Daniel shook his head. "They'll be fine without it. I'm sure that Aggron didn't screw up their brains too much." He smiled and laughed at the thought of it.

"I dunno, that Aggron was pretty convincing to me during that video..." Megan smiled wistfully. Everyone in the room paused—Daniel, with his fingers over the tablet, Megan, staring at him, and Pita and Flygon solving the puzzle. It felt like a sheet of ice just slid away from their thoughts and they blinked simultaneously.

"Serena?" Daniel muttered. A foreign name to him. To what significance was it?

"Serena!" Megan gasped. It all came back to her—short, brunette, blue-eyed and tube-top sporter! Of course! "Daniel," Megan turned to him alarmingly, "_Where's _Serena? She was part of the group! But I don't remember leaving her!"

"I don't either—my memory—its..." Daniel scratched his head. The sheets of ice looming over his head were only coming off in layers, and right now he only remembered her—her face—and the fact that she was on his team. Something clicked. "Wait! We can track her PokéGear!"

"Right!" Megan nodded and quickly skimmed through the contacts list of her Styler.

There was no Serena Valliya listed.

"Dammit" Daniel muttered and began pacing around the room, hobbling over the foot that still throbbed from the acupuncture. Megan panicked and looked at her own feet.

If those needles weren't in there, she would be doing more than pacing.

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard's POV<strong>

Aww, oh God, not _this _dream again. I was in that spaceship again, and seriously, with all the times I've been in here, I've practically memorized the buttons on the dashboard. Past the windows of the observatory deck, everything was black, so I didn't think much of it. I stared around the area, still on the tractor-beam pad thingy.

"Hey, it's Gerard! So you got the right guy this time." Irene says, sitting at one of the spinning chairs at the dashboard. "Good going Kai!" She calls to someone in a different room.

Kai. Hmm. Feel like I've met him before.

Irene picked up a gun-looking thing from the dashboard and pointed it at me. I wasn't really scared—I knew what would happen. She would shoot me and everything would go blank again.

"Prepare to lose your memory!" She shouts dramatically, finger hovering over the trigger.

"Not much to lose." I said with a grin.

She shrugs to the left but doesn't lose her grip. "I've got to protect who I am! This is the only way!"

"There's always another way." I muttered. "I wouldn't have told...if I knew what to tell."

She looked hesitant and lowered the gun, but she shook her head and lost the doubt. She fired it—

Oh, now I get to look at myself getting shot with a yellow beam. My body collapses but I'm still just _looking _at it cripple.

"Still here." I say, waving my arms around. Irene shrugs and walks into another part of the ship.

I stare at my body, still on the ground.

Damn, I'm alone. That's never happened in this dream before.

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_Good morning _;)  
>5 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **What are you doing up so early?

**Sherry Brogan **Early? It's 8:32.

**Lucas Taylor **Yeah. Early.

**Jun Kirman **Where's Amber?

**Lucas Taylor **Getting breakfast while it's still fresh  
>Imogen Yale likes this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **Eew...

* * *

><p>I shook my head awake. <em>God<em>, when will I stop having these stupid dreams? Maybe it has something to do with all of us sleeping on the road. Ashka insisted last night that we not stay off the route, in case of wild pokémon or something, but I still had a really bad feeling we were going to become road kill. Do you know how many reckless drivers there are at night? Well...I don't.

Guess it helped that my Umbreon's tats could glow in the dark. What a convenient living nightlight.

The pokémon were playing with each other as usual while Nicolas and Irene were still asleep and Ashka was mixing what looked like instant-pancakes on top of a folding table. James looks like he was concocting some sort of sustenance-pack bomb. After rolling up my sleeping bag I went and stared directly into the bowl that had been stabbing me in the back up to last night in my backpack.

Eew. The stuff is bubbling.

"Is this edible?" I ask Ashka, pointing down at the...stuff.

She smiles back at me, a smile that made my ears turn red. Damn, hope she didn't catch that. "We're a day away from Fortree. One mushy meal won't kill you."

I poked at the mush with a plastic spoon. The glop rolled off like puke. "Sure about that?" I teased, showing her the stuff. She shrugged and continued stirring. I imagine she's not that good at cooking. She's probably only good at making instant. I tried remembering things, but it was like reaching into an empty box. There was really nothing to remember.

Burnt cookies? Hmm.

Seems I have reached something in that box. I delved deeper into the box. _Ashka and I have apparently been friends for a long time, because as soon as she unlocks the door to her house I run inside straight to the fridge as if I owned the place. She seemed happy enough and began baking cookies, to which I apparently watched front row with her still currently a Charmeleon. Ooh, the things came out a really dark brown when they were a clean white in the mixing bowl. Oh no, she's making me try them...no...I can't...oh but I was polite and ate one. She was laughing while I ran to the bathroom to spit it out. Hmm._

"Gerard?" Ashka calls.

I blink. _Whoa_. What? That was cool! Why'd the little snippet of my life have to disappear? I was interested in watching. Apparently I had been staring into space, straight into the pancake mix. I shook my head out of the daze and looked back up at her. "Why?" I say.

"...Why what?"

"Why'd you taint the cookies?"

She lifted an eyebrow in confusion and tried to think back. "Taint the cookies? Wha? I thought you liked them." That was a smirk on her face. "So you're starting to remember stuff?"

"In flashback form now." I nodded. Her smile was wide and made me elated.

"Good morning world!" Shouts Irene a few feet away, stretching in her PJs. Nicolas imitates and waves hello at the sky.

...Strange bunch we have here.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Commence the race of getting to the end of the fork in the road first! Bring it on witches :D  
><em>3 people dislike this

**Irene Connor **Why do you always have to start stuff?

**Lucas Taylor **There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition :P

**Amber Hendrix **YOU GUYS ARE GOING DOWN *evil face*

**Irene Connor **See. -.-

**Nicolas Wolf **oink

**Jun Kirman **I hope we tie :)  
>Amber Hendrix and Lucas Taylor dislike this<p>

**Lucas Tayler **cop out! :(

* * *

><p>We all walked in silence for a long time. We saw pokémon, but didn't really battle it or attempt to catch it. Time was becoming irrelevant. It felt like we had been walking for hours when it was only fifteen minutes. I tried remembering things again, like what happened at breakfast, but I came up short.<p>

"I'm getting tired of this." Sighs Irene around two in the afternoon.

"I'm getting tired of your voice." replies Ashka in a cold voice, and we keep going.

Well, ouch.

After about another hour of walking we release Nicolas into the woods to use the bathroom. While waiting I glance over James's shoulder to see what he's doing. All I see is him etching diagrams and numbers and math formulas.

"AH!" He finally sees me and leaps up in the air, does a 360, and runs behind a tree. I still stand in the same place and watch him skeptically.

"Watcha doing?" I ask.

"...Math homework." He replies with a series of shifty eyes. That seemed like a strange response, considering it was summer. _But James has always been this way, ever since the day I met him in the airport. Plus he seemed concerned when me and Ashka went camping that first night. It was pretty considerate of him to tag along. Ashka and I hardly have any friends outside of each other and its cool to have a guy like him around._

Really? Then I wonder why Ashka acts so distant to him. I'd be James's friend if he'd let me.

"Hey, come back to Earth!" James says, now standing in front of me and snapping his fingers in my face.

I quickly shake my head. "Thanks. You're a good friend." I smile, and he does this awkward thing where he parades around and shakes peoples shoulders, shrieking in their ears, "I made a friend! A FRIEND!" I shrug and regret nothing.

We continue walking with more effort in our step thanks to that brief break at the cliffs. We were traveling downhill now and according to the GPS we were making very good time. We might even get to the merging road by nightfall. I was kind of surprised we didn't run into anything, considering we were in the wild. I guess it helps that there was a Charizard and a Skarmory leading the way.

Around five we took another break, this time beside a small pond that Nicolas's Roggenrola found. James was still doing math things very neurotically while Ashka fell asleep under the shade of a tree. Nicolas was attempting to climb some.

Irene just hung around, wading her feet through the pond while her Murkrow treated the water like a bird bath. I felt it was odd that she hadn't talked much during the walk considering that she's _always _yapping with Lucas and Jun. Maybe that's it—without her friends, she goes into a shell. I can relate. Without Ashka, I'm pretty much silent—and that's saying a lot, since I don't talk much with Ashka either.

I rolled up my sweatpants and kicked off my shoes and sat next to Irene about a foot apart. The water was nice and cool but the rocks felt grimy. Irene looked like she was trying to say something to me, but I just stared at her blue hair. Why _is _it that color? Oh, now she's not talking. I think my staring has scared her.

I found it difficult to start a conversation too. What to say that we could've already said when we were walking?

"...Umm hi." I say. Wow, smooth me.

That innocent smile of hers comes up and her eyes become less alert. "Hey Gerard."

Oh, how to continue this conversation. "Nice...uh...weather we're having."

She stifles a laugh, which causes me to turn a little red. Seriously, I'm not good at talking. "Yes, it is." She finally replies.

Silence ensues. We continue to wade our bare feet in the water. I think it's all innocent and awkward until she brushes my foot with the side of hers.

Wait. No. I like Ashka.

Right?

Erm...

I wrench my feet aside and sit Indian-style. Irene shrugs off whatever that could've been and stares at her Murkrow.

"How's the memory thing coming along?" She asks.

I shrug. "It's going good. Some stuff is coming back."

"Like what?" She seems interested enough.

"Well, I've started to remember home life, school life, some of my family. Feels like I never forgot them when it comes to me. I'm starting to remember Ashka...and James..." I stared at my lap. "...and you." I tossed my head to the side. Why did I say that? I meant in my dreams. She's always there.

"..O-oh." She manages a little stutter but smiles. "I can refresh your memory on me if you don't have a complete collection."

"Umm...okay." I nod and turn myself so that I was facing her.

She looks up in thought. "Well, for starters, we didn't talk much. Ashka was very possessive of you in the beginning of the trip. She still is—but she's cooled off because of the amnesia thing." She checks my face for some kind of reaction. I just wanted her to continue talking. "I was on your team with Mr. Daniel until we got to Verdanturf. Then I switched over to Ms. Megan's group."

"Why?"

She hesitates. "I—um—I became really close with Lucas and Jun—it was so hard to be around all you guys...you...seniors. It's easy to be around juniors who don't act as superior."

I feel like I should feel offended. "We don't act superior."

"Sure you do." She shrugs. "You act more mature, you look more mature—you handle things better...the line between juniors and seniors is very sharp. It's hard to talk to you and Ashka and Zane and Amber..."

"You don't seem to have a problem now." I point out.

She shrugs. "Yeah. Must be because you're not how you used to be." She then pulls out her PokéGear and begins browsing the internet. I assume that closes our conversation, although I wanted to prod more into how I was before the amnesia. I was hoping a memory would've come up about her like Ashka and James did, but for some reason, it didn't.

I still don't remember who the hell Irene is.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_I'm tired of walking :[  
><em>4 people like this

**Jun Kirman **Would you like for me to carry you?

**Lucas Taylor **...hell no

**Amber Hendrix **You guys are holding us up! Keep moving!

**Lucas Taylor **You're the one using the tree.  
>2 people super like this<p>

**James Lopreo **So where are you guys?

**Jun Kirman **Not sure. Been seeing a lot of trees...

**Sherry Brogan **Are we lost?

**Lucas Taylor **ohmygod she's not replying we must be LOST

**James Lopreo **Bet you wished you had came with us now, huh? :D  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes this<p>

**Amber Hendrix **I was USING THE TREE :[ pretty hard to discard used toilet paper around here

* * *

><p><strong>Amber Hendrix <strong>_It is 6:00 pm and we have gotten 45 miles from the fork in the road. Take THAT __**Ashka**__.  
><em>3 people like this, 2 do not

**Ashka Storme **We've traveled 51 miles.  
>Amber Hendrix dislikes this.<p>

**James Lopreo **Look, we're all going to meet again tonight. Why do we have to argue?

**Jun Kirman **I agree T_T this journey was much more fun when we weren't fighting

**Ashka Storme **too bad. We can't all get along.

**Amber Hendrix **Like that blonde chick you called ugly?

**Ashka Storme **I never called you ugly. -.- although..

**Amber Hendrix **I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ME—damn. I didn't even catch that. You're dead to me :[

**James Lopreo **So the blonde then? What was her name?

**Ashka Storme **I don't remember.

**Jun Kirman **Is she nice? :3

**Lucas Taylor **She's probably hot ;D  
>Sherry Brogan dislikes this<p>

**James Lopreo **Wish I could remember..

* * *

><p><strong>Normal POV<strong>

The sun was now setting in the summer sky, causing there to be little light in the massive jungle Amber's group had gotten stuck in. They knew they were on the road, with the black asphalt being hard to miss, but vines were hanging from everywhere and they had to push them aside to get through. It came to the point where the team leader had to hack at the vines to get through, leaving ghostly green cartilage.

"We're never going to make it before it gets too dark." Sherry sighs, sticking to Imogen's side who was weaving gimp out of the fallen vines.

"We will! You just have to _believe_!" sang Jun rather dramatically, prancing between the spaced out travelers with his Whismur clumsily trailing behind.

"Ugh, quit saying that crap, Jun. It's giving me a headache." groaned Lucas, isolated from everyone at the back. The glow from his 'Gear screen was lighting up his face in the dark. Zane was still in his chair, drifting at the right.

It began beeping and everyone stopped and looked at Zane's hover chair. It was sputtering and shaking and the controls weren't working. He panicked and jumped off, afraid it would blow up.

Sherry gasped. "You can _walk_?"

"Didn't you already know that?" Lucas looked up from his 'Gear to give a lifted eyebrow expression.

The light under the hover chair blinked out and the chair fell to the ground. The water jug in the back spewed open and water spilled all over the asphalt.

"Aww man, the water!" Imogen shook her head and hurriedly scooped up whatever was left, which wasn't much.

"What happened to the chair?" Zane asked, looking around rather lost. He didn't expect this to happen.

"Your chair ran out of power." Amber summarized with a shrug. "Didn't you have the solar panels out?"

"Did it _look _like I gave a damn about a whatever panel?" He shot back.

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Looks like you're walking with the rest of us. Fold up that thing and let's go."

Zane, with the help of Jun, reluctantly folded up the hover chair and stuffed it into his backpack. But as the group began their walk again, they just stopped after two steps.

"Serena?" Jun blinked.

"Serena." Lucas scratched his head and looked frightened.

"That brunette with the big eyes—why did I just remember her?" Sherry muttered to herself.

"Why did we _all _just think of her?" Imogen wondered.

"Whose Serena again?" Amber asked. Zane had no idea who these people were talking about and was thankful she asked.

Jun pounded his fist in his palm in eureka. "Serena! Oh! She was the really quiet girl with the camera!"

"Oh yeah!" Lucas nodded, now remembering. "And she chewed James out for nearly wrecking it! Ha, good times."

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGRRON!"_

A loud, menacing deep roar stirred through the jungle, making the birds in the trees flee into the sky. The teens could barely recover from the mini-earthquake of the roar. They all looked to Amber, whose arsenal on her belt looked like nothing that could measure up to the beast who made that sound.

"Walk faster," She said alarmingly, kicking off her heels and holding them in her hands. "_Now._"

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_So I think __**Sherry **__crapped her skirt from that thing that made that noise, and who still remembers Serena?  
><em>Sherry Brogan hates this

**Sherry Brogan **I did NOT! I can't believe you just said that! ;(

**Lucas Taylor **and you still wink.

**Jun Kirman **Sherry, you're leaving a trail...

**Sherry Brogan **of M&Ms!  
>Lucas Taylor denies at this<p>

**Irene Connor **You guys remember Serena too? I forget what happened to her...she was nice...

**James Lopreo **She twisted my arm once :'(  
>Irene Connor likes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **She probably quit because of you crazies -.-

**Irene Connor **How is it _us_? You're the one who goes into the bathroom and shouts "Corn! When did I eat corn?".

**Lucas Taylor **That's not crazy ;)

**Jun Kirman **It's weird :S

**Lucas Taylor **But I didn't eat corn! :[

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard's POV<strong>

"It's getting spooky out here." Irene mutters as we all begin to walk closer in the darkness. There were still lampposts providing street lights, but they didn't include insight on the nature around us. We were more likely to get ambushed by pokémon at night then in the morning. Night is when the freaks come out.

"You have a Murkrow. How are you scared?" James asked, still calculating things. I wonder what's so important and difficult that it takes him all day to do it.

"My Murkrow is only one factor of the night! We'll be seeing blood soon." She predicted. Her Murkrow let out a creepy caw that sent shivers down my spine.

"We've only got a few more miles until we merge with the other road. Then we'll stop for the night." Ashka said.

"AB!" Something white crossed the asphalt and disappeared onto the other side of the road.

"Whazzat!" Nicolas whined, sticking very close to Ashka now. I don't like how close he's getting to her..

"It was too fast for me to identify.." James said. Another one crossed, just as fast. A blur. "It was a Togetic!"

"How was that a Togetic?" Ashka spat. "The form was all wrong. The thing walks on four paws!"

Another one shot across, from the opposite side now.

The bush rustled from behind us and another one darted across!

"Are they going to attack?" Irene pushed into the middle of the circle and pulled us closer to be a human shield.

"They're Absol." I whispered. "I don't know how I know...I just...do."

Ashka smiled. "You're smart, Gerard. Of course you'd know."

I looked to James who had a cruddy expression. Crap, I didn't mean to steal his spotlight. I know he's a smart guy, and he usually never gets things wrong...right?

"Ab! Absol!" A high-pitched shriek made us turn fully around. A white furred animal stood in front of us, our faces reflecting back in the sheer black of its head blade, and its red eyes fierce. I realized immediately that there was a group of smoldering red eyes staring at us from the bushes where the streetlights do not shine.

"Yep, it's an Absol..." Irene whimpered from behind us.

"Scared of them like you are bridges?" Ashka inquired.

"BRIDGES CAN KILL YOU!" She replies back.

"SHH!" I hiss, and Irene's eyes are wide and take my advice. Wow, I didn't think it would be that easy to shut her up..

"James, put that thing away and help us get around the Absol." Ashka whispered. "What do you think we should do?"

The Absol's are just staring at us—all of them—including the ones in the bushes.

"Don't show any hostility. Just walk away slowly...if you get out your pokémon, they'll take it as a threat." James whispered back, stowing his tablet into his bag. The light from that was now absent and it became much darker.

As a group, we walked slowly forward. I kept my eye on the Absol, but it made no movements. We kept getting further but there was no movement. The second I looked away, it disappeared. I sighed, hoping greatly that that would be the only scare tonight. I caught site of Absol eyes. They were following us.

Irene ran ahead—

"Irene—" I call—

Her screams are nearly deafening me as a pack of Absol ambush her. I release my Umbreon, Ashka's Charizard comes out, as does James's Skarmory. Irene's Murkrow is slammed into the asphalt and doesn't get up.

"HALP!" Irene manages to scream, pushing the biting Absol's off her. My eyes widen in horror.

"Umbreon—use—" I stop. I can't do _anything_! Umbreon doesn't know any offensive moves!

"Charizard get Irene!" Ashka yells. Charizard stomps through the Absols and lifts them in her claws like Barbie dolls, throws them into the darkness, and scoops Irene into her arms. Irene's shirt is torn at the sleeves and she has to pull up her skirt in embarrassment. Her hair's a mess and she's got a cut on her arm. Charizard starts coming towards us—

"More!" Nicolas cries, pointing into the bushes.

More Absol's jump from the bushes, lunging at Skarmory as Charizard flies into the air to keep Irene out of harm. I try to keep my own ass safe, as well as hoping Ashka was safe.

"We need to run!" I yell, grabbing Ashka's wrist. Her hand slides into mine and I lock it there with my fingers. I pull her forward and she doesn't struggle. We try to run and James is behind us, but more Absol leap at us! We duck and they miss, and James returns his Skarmory, who can't land a move!

"Your styler!" Ashka screams, our hiking packs weighing us down as we run downhill. "Use it!"

"Where's Nicolas?" I say instead. We both stop and look to her belt where the red leash is dragging, no purple haired neurotic kid on the other end.

"AHHH!" We hear him scream bloody murder. We drop our bags and run back uphill.

"Dammit this is why we need a childproof leash! And one for Irene!" Ashka shouts as we return to the place, but there's nothing—no Absol, no Nicolas.

The styler is faintly beeping in my pocket. I pull it out and immediately read the message—_crap_! Why didn't I see this earlier? There are _7 _level 3 threats in the area, and they've got Nicolas! I pull out the baton and wield it like a sword. Charizard lands next to us and Irene looks around frantically, knowing we lost a person.

I point into the forest with Mr. Daniel's baton.

"Into the darkness. That's where we'll find our kid."

* * *

><p><strong>Irene Connor <strong>_CRAP! We lost Nicolas to a bunch of Absols! AND MY ARM IS BLEEDING! :'(_

**Amber Hendrix **WHAT?

**Imogen Yale **NO! Please don't tell me!

**Irene Connor **We're looking for him now! He's somewhere in the forest!

**Lucas Taylor **In this dark? Oh hell, I'm not looking for him!

**Amber Hendrix **We're leaving you in the dust then, because I'm running!

**Imogen Yale **Our paths are practically next to each other! He must be in the forest in between!

**Ashka Storme **Quit chatting on Facebook and LOOK FOR HIM!

**James Lopreo **I've locked onto his styler! They've taken him down to the merging road!  
>4 people like this<p>

**Jun Kirman **This is beautiful T.T

**Irene Connor **The guts being ripped out by wild white-furred dogs?

**Jun Kirman **No...the teamwork we have when one of us going missing :D  
>2 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

As if I didn't have enough problems in my life...

I've been ignored most of my life, by men and women alike who have no interest in the intense smarties like me. Well, am I more appealing now that I've brought a person from the past to the present? Unfortunately not, because I'm in the midst of cracking an equation to send the guy back. Whatever I did screwed up the time stream, and I'm in deep crap trying to fix it. There's no such thing as "reverse polarity" on my time extractor. There are legends, like the pokémon Dialga and Celebi, that have the power to go through time. But as I mentioned before, it's just a _legend_. Pokémon like those don't exist. I'm pretty sure those pictures in our history eBooks are photoshopped.

That's not the problem right now—the problem is that guy Nicolas who went missing. I'm so frustrated with him. _Everything _happens to him, and everyone adores him! Man, I wish it were me...But I'm not willing to lose a few brain cells to get a few more friends.

I had my new Skarmory out again, searching through the dark with my flashlight app. Ashka and Gerard were scoping out again, proving again to be the masters of the forest by winding their way through low branches and hanging vines. I struggled to catch up, with my hiking pack full of tents and poles weighing me down. I should've done what they did and give it to Ashka's Charizard, who was flying above us with Irene on her back.

"What does the GPS say?" I call across, still huffing and puffing as I run to catch up. They make a swift left and I almost run into a tree when I follow.

"Only a few more miles to the fork in the road!" Ashka yells back. "There's a cliff on the right! That's where the others are, I bet!"

I check in with my own pokédex as we run back to the road and dart down the hill. My screen was picking up signals from Amber, Lucas, and Sherry's 'Dex's. I was already relieved to know they were in radius of my 'Dex, which meant they were close, and safe. I hope.

"The others are nearby!" I call across, raising my 'Gear. They don't look back but I didn't feel ignored by this, knowing that if they turned they'd probably trip on something and go tumbling.

"There's an Absol coming up." Gerard says, baton still in hand. I'm starting to think the guy is obsessed with being a ranger like Mr. Daniel. Maybe it's an amnesia-induced thing.

"Skarmory, fly ahead, low, and use Steel Wing!" I said. Skarmory nodded and flew past our heads until we were staring at her tail feathers. Ashka looked back at me, confused utterly. I gave her a thumbs up and she turned back around.

As I had thought, the Absol's nearby were going to ambush at us again and lunged at Skarmory, but her Steel Wing stabbed right through their bodies and she tossed them aside mercilessly. I stared at the furry white, blood-stained pokémon that had been living and hostile just a few seconds ago. The further we got, the more bodies. Skarmory looked like she had no trouble killing them, and my insides squeezed. It didn't feel right to hurt the Absol like this.

"HELPPP!" Nicolas's cries make all of us skid back into the forest where the voice originated. His 'Gear has registered onto my chat screen.

"I can hear him!" Yells a voice in the forest that I recognize—

"Ariados, Signal Beam!" Another familiar voice yells. A bright yellow light rips through the trees, lighting up the grooves in the tree bark and the bug pokémon hiding within in them. A cry of death stabs into my ears and I know it's one of the many Absols. It hurts me to go on but I run forward towards the light. I hear Skarmory clanging behind me.

"It's James!" I hear Jun call my name and find him, Lucas, Amber, and Zane running towards the same area Ashka and Gerard went. I found Imogen and Sherry not far behind.

"You're here!" I say, catching up to my best abilities. A Cottonee butt smacks into my face and I swat it away, where it floats back to Imogen. "So I guess that it means it's a tie?" I ask Lucas, a few feet in front.

"Yay! Peace in the kingdom!" Jun cheers. "I can't believe how many Absols had to die though..."

"They nearly bit off your head! I think it's fair!" Lucas barks back.

We run into a clearing where the others have stopped. We're all here—Me, Lucas, Jun, Imogen, Sherry, Zane, Amber, Gerard, Irene, and Ashka. We're facing a beef-looking pack of Absols, all with glowing red eyes and metallic head blades. They all looked to be guarding...Nicolas, just hanging out there on a rock, unharmed.

"What the hell are you doing Nicolas?" Amber yells.

"How come those Absols haven't ripped him apart yet?" Ashka said in disbelief. From all the things I've seen tonight, I wondered this too.

"I am the King of Absols!" Nicolas shouts, pointing a finger into the star-speckled sky.

"Get down from there!" Amber shrieks.

Nicolas immediately catches the bite in her tone and hops off the rock, but the second he steps forward all the Absols begin growling. He doesn't move anymore and his eyes are wide. The Absols all turn to us.

We all shared a glance. I think we all know what to do.

"Skarmory use Steel Wing!" I start it off and everyone follows suit. Pokémon barrel forward with glowing parts, beams and fire are strung forward, and the Absols tear through, ripping grass from the ground in their wake. It's only a few seconds when only one Absol gives up and the rest of our pokémon are down for the count. We don't know what else to do.

Gerard tries to tame the pokémon, using Mr. Daniel's styler, but an Absol leaps through the rings of light and smashes it out of his hands. Gerard is now on the ground and trying to do the crabwalk on his back, and many of us are trying to scatter.

Crap! I didn't want to die like this!

_WHAM! WHAM!_

Just like that, two of the three Absols are down and on the ground, moaning softly into their forearms. I thought Amber had come through to us, but instead, standing there was a humanoid-pokémon with a jackal-like head.

A wild Lucario.

Dammit, just when I thought we had enough to deal with..

"Wait...that's _my _Lucario!" Ashka shouts.

"How is it yours? You never had a Riolu!" Lucas says incredulously.

Ashka looks bashful. "I did...it hatched as an egg." Gerard looked at her in fury. I think he already knew where this was heading.

"You released a _baby _Riolu into the wild?" He shouts, louder than I've ever heard him be. Nicolas is cowering behind the rock he was previously sitting on.

Lucario is now running at Gerard, a neon blue bone twirling in its hand—

"GERARD!" I and Irene shout—

The Lucario stabs Gerard in the gut with Bone Rush. Gerard collapses on his knees, holding his stomach, and is coughing up what looked like our instant-dinner.

"Gerard!" Ashka gasps in concern and hunches over him, and Lucario takes out the last Absol with another Bone Rush and then disappears into the forest. Jun, Irene, and I hover over Gerard and remove his sweater over his head to inspect the damage. Everything looked fine, but he was bruised.

"Aww man, his stomach is purple!" Irene cried in disgust.

"Are you all right big guy?" Jun asks. Gerard's eyes are sewn shut but I see something has changed about him. He turns away from Ashka's lap and hurls into the ground again, causing all of us to back away. Gross, I don't need _more _gunk on my shoes.

"You okay?" Ashka asks softly, tapping his cheeks. I was envious of how much she cared about him. I wish a girl cared for me like that..

"Who..." He starts.

"Oh no, he lost his memory again!" Jun groans.

"Awesome! Then we get to use the funnel!" Lucas cheers, still with the others who chose not to get closer.

"What's a funnel going to do?" asks Imogen, but she gets no reply.

Gerard's eyes squint and then he opens them, greeting us with its tropical green hue. There's something different about it—more alert, more conscious. He sits up and stands, looking at all of us. Recognition flickers in his eyes and I see something swell inside of him.

"I remember." He says in disbelief, his eyes wandering over everyone. "Everything."

"_EEEEAAAAAAA AAHHHHH!" _A louder than pokémonely-possible robotic pokémon-cry shakes through the area, knocking over trees and making pokémon run in the opposite direction that we were standing. I looked up, already spotting what was appearing before us, hovering through the sky like a spacecraft.

_HOLYYY _crap.

That thing was not a legend.

Dialga. Is. _Real_.

Oh, what bad timing it is.

"What in the freak is _that_!" Sherry cries, instantly hiding behind her posse who are just as freaked as they are.

"WHOA! I'm taking pics!" Lucas says, sneaking out his 'Gear.

"THINGTHINGTHING!" Nicolas cries, pointing at it and jumping all ADD-like.

"EEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" It's cry blasts through our ears, and as it nears close, winds pick up and knock many of us into bushes and trees. It's _huge_, almost as big as a house, with 4 thick legs to stomp us with and a glowing faceplate that could outshine the moon. Dialga's body was a deep blue color with a bright blue diamond protruding from its chest. Neon blue veins ran about its body, almost like the skin covering its veins were transparent. It had a white fan-plate-thing on its arse, looking like one hit could kill you instantly, and had a tail much more superior than any kind of whale I own.

Oh my God, we're witnessing a legend.

Dialga lives in Spear Pillar I think, some "ruin" proclaimed place that has disappeared to mankind centuries ago. Spear Pillar was always rumored to be near Mt. Coronet. But that's a region away.

Dialga lands and the ground beneath us snaps off our feet, making all of us fall. It lets out another wail, a sound that seemed to warp time.

_Time_.

Of course! _Dialga _could solve the situation with Zane! Forget Gerard regaining his memory—I've got my own life to redeem! I run forward, in straight sight of the beast, getting worried calls from the others. They were calling me back and saying that I was dead meat, but nothing could bring me back.

"I have your time traveler!" I shout to Dialga, who hasn't acknowledged me at all. "You can take him back!"

"_Hey_! Don't _I_ get a say in this!" Zane shouts from a bush. He runs forward until he's next to me. "How did you know?"

"I was the one who brought you here." I say, feeling ashamed that I even tried. "It's time for you to go back."

I could hear the whispering behind me. Everyone was whispering hysterically. I can't believe they couldn't even tell Zane wasn't from this time period. He speaks differently and dresses differently! Wasn't that sign enough?

"What if I don't want to?" Zane retorts. I was scared he'd say that.

Dialga lifts into the air and roars, making us wince and crouch to the ground. Its tail nearly slams into us as it lifts into the sky and disappears once again, but its cry came clear to us. I could translate it for Zane if he didn't understand.

"I'm sorry I did this to you," I said, "But what Dialga says goes. Your days are numbered."

* * *

><p><em>Private Message – <em>**Irene Connor **_to _**Kaisei Arcan**

**Irene Connor **This is CRAP. I thought you said the scrambler would erase his memory!

**Kaisei Arcan **It does.

**Irene Connor **Gerard REGAINED his memory. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

**Kaisei Arcan **I didn't say it would erase his memory forever. Eventually it will be restored, but memory on us and our kind will not be remembered.

**Irene Connor **U sure?

**Kaisei Arcan **Yeah. Did you get the terraformer ray from his bag?

**Irene Connor **Yeah. Still works like the day I bought it.

**Kaisei Arcan **Good. I'll give you a few more days before I call the signal, so you better get your priorities straight. You're on a mission, remember?

**Irene Connor **I know...It's just hard, considering everything I do, Jun is against. I don't even know what to do with him. He's a disgrace.

**Kaisei Arcan **Leave him with the humans then. He does not compute.

**Irene Connor **Your alien syntax sucks :'(

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard's POV<strong>

We set up camp a few miles down the merging road. After all the crap we've been through, it feels good to have a rest.

And I'm not talking about just the Absols and pseudo-dragon either.

Feels good to have my memory back.

At one point, it felt like I never lost it. It was there this whole time, right in front of me, waiting to be reached. That attack I took to the stomach, that helped me reach it. As everything washed over me, I went over a regret period. I couldn't believe all the things I missed out on because my memory was blank.

I'm glad it's behind me.

Ashka and I were the last to sit around the campfire, whereas everyone else was fascinated in hearing the tales of the past. Zane's skeleton was now moon walking from its closet and he was sharing all the details of life a millennium ago. It was very fascinating and cool, but I wanted to spend time with Ashka and all the time we lost on this journey, due to what happened.

We were sitting on some leftover tent-material, half-listening to Zane's story.

"Thanks for not giving up on me." I murmured, wrapping my arm around her to form a hug. Or maybe it was more than a hug, because I didn't want to let go.

She leans on my shoulder and sighs. "And lose a friend like you? I would never give up."

"What about Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan? When we find them, will you give up?"

She pulls away and stares up at me with driven, completely determined blue eyes. "When I find that guy and whoever disrupted our journey, he's getting a fight White Forest-style."

I nod and stare back into the fire. "Not without me you aren't."

She grins back and we sit in silence, returning to listening to Zane and his tale of an old mob gang named "Team Rocket"...

* * *

><p>A loud <em>swoosh <em>wakes me from my pleasantly empty dream. The morning is reflecting off the tent walls and I pull Ashka's arm off my side and shimmy out of the sleeping bag, then cautiously peer out the hole in our tent.

No way. It's Serena.

She's just standing there with the backpack that Mr. Daniel issued us, staring at the cluster of tents that were littering the ground.

I wonder where she'd been, and why she left. I couldn't necessarily remember why she did, but I remember everything about her. She was quiet and shy, and always took pictures when no one was looking. She drew them too, at night when she thought no one was looking. She's a ranger just like me...or at least training to be one.

But before I step out of my tent to greet her, James is already climbing out of his and running to hug her. She looks terrified when he wraps his shirtless body over her. I hope she doesn't mind smelling his morning pits.

"You're back!" He whispers, and I strain my ear through the tent wall to hear.

"Yeah, I am." Her voice is nervous and she looks around. "Will you guys take me back?"

"Of course we will!" He said, looking incredulous to why she'd ask that. "You just have to, you know, wait for everyone to wake up. Man have you missed a lot! Want me to fill you in?"

She nods enthusiastically and the two head to the extinguished bonfire to sit, but James takes a second to go back to his tent and grab a shirt. A second later, Lucas and Jun are running out and giving Serena a good welcome-back hug. Lucas sends a mass Facebook message that gets everyone running out of their tents.

**Lucas Taylor **_SERENA is back, guys, WAKE UP!  
><em>9 people like this

I shake Ashka awake as her 'Gear vibrates from Lucas's message. "Ashka, there's someone outside who I think you might remember." She groans and sits up, staring back at me with lullful eyes that just want to crawl back into the sleeping bag.

"Dude, it's frakkin'..." She lifts her 'Gear to check the time but her eyes widen at the Facebook post and she tosses everything aside, tears through the door of the tent, and scurries outside where everyone else is. I check the time for her. Yes, it is 8:36 am.

I join everyone outside with some elements of breakfast, like bagels out of a squeeze bottle and instant waffles and syrup. Serena doesn't answer much to the reason why she left, but everyone fills her in to what she missed. I love how everyone treats her as though she's a very crucial part of our group, the glue that sticks us together, yet before they never spoke a word to her more than an occasional "hello" and, "that seat's taken".

"Here's our real motive for traveling solo." James said, trying to act cool in front of her. "Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan...they got kidnapped by some guy in a suit."

"...What?" Serena stares at him oddly.

"It's true." Jun sighs. "They...As in James and 'em...killed Absols and faced a legend to get to where we are now..." She gasps at the slaughter part.

"I think the legend thing was just an illusion." Lucas said, skeptical as always. "Don't you think government choppers would be all over that ass if it was real?"

"Legends are legends for a reason. They can't be found. They find _us_." I muttered. Everyone mulls over what I had said.

"So then what's the reason that that _thing_ showed up then?" Amber asked, nipping at a squeezed-out bagel. I looked to James and Zane for this one.

James shuffled his feet around. "Probably wants Zane to return home."

"I don't want to go back." Zane sighs. "Everything here is..._better_. I don't want to go back in 2012 where everyone is going nuts over the end of the world."

"But you're here now." Jun said. "So doesn't that prove that the world didn't end?"

"Unless it did, and we're all on a second planet." James said thoughtfully. We all paused and thought about it, but I didn't like the idea.

"You've got a whole life ahead of you in 2012, Zane." Serena said softly, leaning her head on her hand. "I think it's safe to say that your descendents did a job well done."

We become silent and think about Serena's wise words.

I wonder who it was that I feel is missing because Zane is here.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Damn, those pictures I took last night look like crappp :l_

**Serena Valliya **You don't have to be an expert to take nice pictures.  
>3 people like this<p>

**Jun Kirman **Yeah buddy, your pictures are mediocre at best ^_^

**Sherry Brogan **What more practice do you have than ass shots? ;P

**Lucas Taylor Sherry**'s being a creeper again!  
>2 people agree<p>

**Sherry Brogan **I kno you take pictures of Amber and me when we're not looking :[

**Lucas Taylor **Gurl not eeeven. Besides, the pictures that I took of Dialga all came out blurry, or its diamond washed out the body.

**James Lopreo **This is why no one has ever successfully taken pictures of them

**Lucas Taylor **And this is why you annoy me -.-

**Jun Kirman **Do I annoy you best frann? :3

**Lucas Taylor **When you say it like that, yes  
>4 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Normal POV<strong>

The teens were just cleaning up camp, stowing away supplies and tent poles, when the ground started vibrating. They all swapped looks, familiar with the feeling. It was no earthquake—it was a pokémon—or more than one. A stampede.

"AAAGGRON!" Yelled a deep pokémon voice, very close by to their surroundings. Sherry's Timburr and Serena's Wigglytuff were on guard duty and instantly put on their GRR faces.

"Not that thing again.." Ashka groaned, readying her Charizard's pokéball as she shuffled her hiking pack on.

"We're very close to Fortree. It's been waiting for us...MUFFIN!" James exclaimed.

Jun took Lucas's binoculars from his neck and scoped out the road. He gasped. "It's the Aggron! And...he's got...MR. DANIEL AND MS. MEGAN!"

"Hide me!" Nicolas wailed, taking shelter behind Amber.

"No! This is our time to fight!" Sherry cried, mock punching the air. She gave it more thought, than decided to take shelter behind Amber as well. Imogen was rolling up the sleeves of her Christmas-themed gingham shirt, ready to get down and dirty.

"CHARGE!" James declared. He ran onto the road alone, as everyone else was taking cover behind trees. He caught sight of Aggron and its enormous body holding Mr. Daniel and Ms. Megan, and just plopped onto the ground.

"What are you _doing_?" Gerard whispered, the closest behind a big shrub.

"Playing dead! Now let me act the part!" James hissed back. Aggron was now very close. Ashka was typing on her 'Gear, preparing everyone with the plan. Plan was—strike on signal. Try to avoid our rangers.

Aggron was now approaching. Daniel and Megan moved their heads inconspicuously under its arms, sharing a wink-wink expression. They knew they were two steps ahead of their teens.

"_FIRE_!" Ashka's warrior cry bellowed. The rangers exchanged wide-eyed looks.

A Charizard, Skarmory, Murkrow, Whismur, Delcatty, Cottonee, Ariados, and Timburr lunged onto the path, circling the now very confused Aggron. Timburr bounded forward first wielding a chunk of wood—

"Stop!" Daniel yelled first, sliding out of Aggron's arms. All the pokémon paused for a moment and waited for their trainers' commands. "Guys—you did it! You traveled on your own!" Sherry's Timburr took another step forward. "So stop trying to attack us!"

Gerard came forward with two steaks of black painted across his face, Lord knows when he did that. "How do we know you're the _real _Mr. Daniel?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Daniel deadpanned. "Oh, and I see you got your memory back. Nice."

"I thought this reunion was going to be a bit more exciting, you know! Something twitpic worthy!" Lucas shouted. "Is that _thing _one of yours?"

"It's completely harmless." Megan reassured, also sliding out of Aagron's arms.

"But you were kidnapped by a guy in a fancy suit!" Irene whined. "Aren't you in real danger?"

"Yeah," Ashka agreed, coming forward with a thick branch she had found. "We came to save you, but it looks like the only thing you need to be saved from is _us_." She smirks now.

Daniel shook his head and called for everyone to get out of the bushes. "I'm sorry if you got all riled up about this, but Megan and I were not kidnapped. That thing was staged." Everyone gasps in horror, mad that they were tricked like that. Lucas claims he knew it from the beginning. "But you see—when you graduate high school, and when you decide to follow your own path—you won't be having people like me and Megan to guide you. Sometimes you need to find your own way." He grinned at them all. "And you did it in less than a week! That's something to be commended."

Amber crossed her arms, pissed that she wouldn't be using her mallet. "If so, then can we get to Fortree so I can shower? I've noticed there are none out here."

"Want to use my shower in a can?" Jun asks, holding up an aerosol spray can.

She stares at him strangely and takes it. "Nah, James needs it more." She turns and doses James, and there's a sigh of relief from everyone now that the smell vanishes.

James gaped. "What, you don't like the smell of dill pickles?"


	19. Dormant

**Chapter Eighteen - Dormant  
><strong>_Thursday, Day 11 of traveling, just outside of Fortree City. It's around noon._

It was almost noon and Daniel and Megan had been summed up to what they missed over the few days that they were absent. They received most of the details, minus the Dialga and Absol incident, where it was kept an inside secret. The teens themselves had no idea what was really happening during those moments. Zane's secret was kept as well, seeing as the rangers were a direct link to the police, and you don't even have to guess what happens after that. He'll be probed in _every _place, let's just leave it at that.

The asphalt was now a dirt path, which was rare to see. The teens were confused to this and Irene was first to voice:

"Are we there yet?"

Daniel bit his tongue to not snap her head off. "Why don't we ask Megan? It's _her_ hometown, after all."

"It is?" Ashka asked in interest. Megan just gained some points in her book.

Megan blushed at all the eyes that were aimed at her and she stopped them from walking. "Honestly—we're already here."

"...What? We're in the middle of a forest." Lucas stated incredulously.

"The GPS says so too..." James muttered, looking to his 'Gear.

Megan smiled and backed up a step. "Look up." She said. Everyone craned their necks up to a ninety-degree angle.

Jun gasped for everyone. "_Oh. _Now I see it!"

The city had been over their heads the whole time. Up to the canopies, within the branches of thick, ancient trees, was a quiet world that seemed to live by itself. Wooden and glass buildings were wound about the trees, through and around and totally harmless. There were hundreds and hundreds of different buildings, many with patios to land on and plenty of bridges and planks connecting the trees for the villagers. The sun couldn't even peak through the leafs because there was a skyscraper that seemed to defy gravitational laws just sprouting from the trees. The citizens here all traveled around on vines that seemed to be operating by a spinning metal pole in the center of town, which couldn't be seen from here.

"...Wow." Irene could only say, which surprised many people because it takes many things to get her speechless.

"How...Wow, are all the buildings here built into the trees?" James asked, using his 'Gear to magnify the buildings in the trees.

"Yep." Megan said, looking up in nostalgia. They brought back so many childhood memories. "All the buildings are perfectly stable. Fortree City is like one big playground."

"How do we get up there?" Sherry asked.

"Maybe the trees have elevators." Amber muttered. Imogen looked at her incredulously. What kind of suggestion was that?

"Is that the pokémon center?" Jun asked, pointing to a red roofed building hidden in the trees.

"I think that's a McDonalds." Lucas said, squinting his eyes to see.

"I think the pokémon center is that building right there." Serena said, pointing at the most dominant structure in the area. It was still a faraways from where they were standing. The building had glass tubes spiraling upwards, much like the structure of a DNA molecule. Things were floating inside of it—a closer look would be actual people skating inside of it with their antigravity shoes.

"The city is beyond reach." Megan said, leading them over to a circular sign jutting from the ground in cement, different from the dirt terrain around it. "To get there we'll need a lift." A red rope was hanging in front of the sign. Nicolas pushed Sherry shyly towards it.

"...What do I do with this?" Sherry asked, taking hold of it. It yanked her up— "AHHH!"

Everyone looked up as Sherry was swept into the trees.

"Why'd she decide to wear shorts today?" Lucas shouted in dismay.

"I think the real question is where she went." Ashka muttered, shaking her head in disappointment at him.

"Look out!" A deep voice yelled, swooping towards them. An old man was riding a vine, carrying a frightened Sherry with him. He landed on the ground yards away from them. Sherry collapsed on the ground and hugged the grass.

"Who's the geezer?" Gerard asked lowly.

"He looks familiar..." Jun said, trying to decipher the person.

Megan walked up to the man. They were about the same height, except his body sagged and he wore a brown vest with leafs coming out of the stuffing and cargo pants.

"Troops, this is Mr. Valacio—my Dad." She said, leaning her arm on his shoulder casually.

"Hello Mr. Valacio." Everyone chorused.

"Hey there!" He said, raising his left arm. It was a prosthetic arm, from the elbow down. The skin was clear and you could see every wire running through it, which was creepy. "So, how strong do you kids think these vines are?" He asked, still holding one in his real hand.

"I calculate from the velocity of the fall and the weight that you and Sherry contribute—" James started,

"They're very strong." Mr. Valacio finished, displaying bored eyes to James's rant. "Steel fiber technology has been around for many centuries, but I was one of the first to embed many of them into Fortree's vines. So, technically speaking, they're very strong. You don't have to worry about one snapping." He pulled on the one he was holding in demonstration.

"Excuse me sir, but just wondering..." Jun said politely, "What happened to your arm?"

"This one?" Mr. Valacio teased, pointing to his real hand.

"The other! The other!" Nicolas whined.

"Ah, the clear one you mean!" Mr. Valacio held up his prosthetic arm for everyone to see. "Well, the story changes all the time." He said, wandering off, "A Boldore chewed it off—"

"Another piece of fiction." Megan interrupted with a grin. "On Halloween he says he sliced it off, on Veterans day he said it had to get amputated from some far-off war he never served in, on Thanksgiving he says that he had to eat it because the turkey my mom made burned, on Valentine's day he gave it to his true love—he really just fell off a vine once and landed in a patch of vampire roses."

"But that story bores people!" Her dad whined.

The teens just stared at him oddly. He seemed like an entertaining person. They wondered why Megan wasn't as cool as him.

"Let's get them up to the 'Center." Megan said, peering up again.

"How many of you have good upper strength?" Daniel asked. "James, put your hand down."

James smiled sheepishly and retreated to the back of the group.

"Ooh! I do! I do!" Irene volunteered, jumping up and down.

"Do you?"

"...No." She pouted and looked down.

"Imogen does." Amber said teasingly, looking to the pink haired female with muscles.

Mr. Valacio came forward and lightly squeezed the muscles that Amber was offering. His eyebrows flew up. "Wow, you've got some serious guns for a girl.." He muttered.

Imogen blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah...comes with farming I suppose..."

"She's my body guard and designated driver when we go clubbing!" Sherry said, still hugging the grass.

"Anyway..." Megan muttered. "We'll get the people who want to try out the vines climb first; everyone else can use the staircase."

"What is this "staircase" that you speak of..." Lucas muttered.

"Oh, I mean elevator."

Lucas said 'oh'. Zane, nearby, looked visibly relieved not to have to climb _all _the way up there where the buildings started. Imogen, Ashka, Gerard, Jun, James, and Megan stayed behind to try out the vines while everyone else, minus Daniel and Mr. Valacio, started to the nearest labeled elevator.

Mr. Valacio waved up to the people up above and vines came down, all with notches and granite planks in them. "You're going to climb them." He instructed. "You can do that, right?" He mostly pointed this question at James, who was rubbing his hands together to get the friction started.

"Sure can!" James replied. He hopped onto the vine for a plank, only to miss by a long shot and land back on the ground.

"Keep on truckin'!" Jun said, feet lying on the first notch at the bottom of the vine.

"What's a truck?" Ashka asked.

Gerard shrugged.

"Everyone, follow me. Careful too!" Megan said. She inched up the vine expertly, like a caterpillar, using her arms and legs to propel her up the planks and notches of the vine. Only after a few seconds of watching Imogen understood the gist of it and began climbing just as fast. Ashka and Gerard took their time, going one at a time, while Jun eagerly reached to get to the height that Megan and Imogen were at. James was still at the bottom, reaching for the second plank.

"This is _hard_!" James whined, fingers barely brushing the plank. For a tall fellow Daniel found it hard to believe he couldn't reach.

"Would you like to use the elevator?" Mr. Valacio inquired.

"No! I can do this!" James replied defiantly.

"Here, let Pita help you. She's a monkey." Daniel muttered, releasing Pita from her pokéball. She yipped in amusement and crawled up the vine quickly, then at the second plank she offered an arm to pull James up. He beamed and successfully got to the second plank—only a hundred more to go.

As everyone was climbing, Mr. Valacio looked back to Daniel.

"So Danny, how's it been?" He asked.

Daniel cringed. He hated being demoted to 'Danny'.

"It's been good. The kids are really...interesting." He grinned, remembering to use his words wisely.

"I have noticed." Mr. Valacio nodded and peered up to where Jun had reached. Gravity was catching up with him and he was sliding as the vine was swinging. "That one kid with the weird face—is he always like that?"

"Who—James? Yeah, he's always determined to look good in front of the others. I think it's alright. He's a good kid...he just turns off people with his ranting. His ambitiousness could be annoying sometimes." Daniel answered.

"That's good. Are you still with Megan?" Mr. Valacio looked at him sideways. Daniel had learned from the beginning to always choose your words wisely around him and be honest. If you're not, he'll definitely weasel you out until you do. He also likes to push you to see how hard you fall, but that's something else.

"Yes."

"You sure?" He was teasing now.

"Yes I'm sure..." Daniel trailed off uneasily. What did he mean by that? It wasn't like they could get a second opinion. Megan and Imogen had already reached the first level of buildings and were trying to reach the top of their vines now, whereas everyone else was climbing off to the catwalks to rest. James was halfway there.

"I'm just asking because you two are so on-and-off." Mr. Valacio said, shrugging. "You two don't have much chemistry honestly...I mean, sure, you're both rangers. But what else do you have in common?"

_Yup, he's bringing on the heat. _Daniel thought to himself, staring at the ground. He said, "What's her birthstone? You know, for a gift...a jewelry kind..." How well could he hide his true intentions?

Mr. Valacio caught on immediately and grinned. He climbed onto the first plank of a nearby vine. "You should already know." He looked up and squinted, finding Megan and Imogen swinging their legs over the guardrails to the catwalks. Others were clambering over the edge to help James up. "I give you two my blessing."

Daniel had to contain himself from jumping up in joy. Instead he gave a grin that could match a parenthesis.

"Thank you!" He called as Mr. Valacio began climbing. "But one more thing!"

"What?"

"What's her birthstone?"

Mr. Valacio glared at him for stopping him for such a stupid question. Couldn't he just google it? "AQUAMARINE DANGIT!"

Daniel still smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Draggin' __**Jun **__to the hover park to show up them Fortree punks! :P  
><em>Amber Hendrix likes this

**Jun Kirman **You don't need to drag! I'm coming voluntarily :)

**Kaisei Arcan **You know how to hoverboard?

**Jun Kirman **Sure I do! Don't you remember going hoverboarding with me last spring break down Celestial Tower? D:

**Kaisei Arcan **I meant **Lucas**

**Lucas Taylor **Yeah. I've also raced with hover boots, snowboards, and surfboards -.- I ain't scared

**Amber Hendrix **You should try skateboarding.

**Lucas Taylor **Wtf? You're crazy. That's such an old thing it's not even cool anymore -.-

**Sherry Brogan **I'm bringin' sexy back~  
>4 people dislike this<p>

**Jun Kirman **...I don't get it...weren't we just talking about skateboarding?

**Lucas Taylor **Ignore her. She's got liquid brains -.-

**Sherry Brogan **:O I think some of it is dripping out of my ear!

**Amber Hendrix **That's because Nicolas gave you a wet willy  
>2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_Mr. Valacio is offering to take us on an early tour through Fortree city. Anyone in? We've already got Zane and Nicolas.  
><em>Amber Hendrix and Sherry Brogan like this

**Amber Hendrix **I'll go

**Sherry Brogan **Me too! I wanna be Tarzan! ;3

**Serena Valliya **I'll come too please :P

**Ashka Storme **I'd go, but Gerard and I are going exploring by ourselves  
>Gerard Eckhart likes this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **Don't stay out too late ya love birds ;)

**Ashka Storme **It's not even like that!

**Sherry Brogan **XD

**James Lopreo **I'll be working on more...homework.

**Ashka Storme **Good luck

**Sherry Brogan **I forget, what's homework code for?  
>James Lopreo dislikes this<p>

**Nicolas Wolfe **apple sauce

**Sherry Brogan **I knew it! :O

* * *

><p>"Where are you going?" Irene inquires innocently as James tries to override the thumb scan lock on the basement door. He moves away from the door and checks to be sure none of the nurses or volunteers are watching.<p>

"Basement." He answers quickly, hoping for her to leave ASAP.

"Why?"

"For the supercomputer." He didn't know why he just blurted it out—that was how in a hurry he was.

"What does that supercomputer have that a regular one doesn't?"

"I need to access the government family records." James admitted with a sigh. "You already know about my screw up with Zane. I'm very close to cracking the code to send him back, and I need to test it out with the family tree up. Promise not to tell anyone?" He pleaded, folding his fingers together.

"Only if you let me come with you!" She said, smirking albeit evilly. He gave a reluctant sigh and had her guard him as he messed with the electronic lock to the door. With a _click _the lock turned and the two scurried into the basement, unseen.

Daniel and Megan had been turned around, facing a tablet and playing 3-D Upwords.

"Did I tell you we're getting a new kid?" Megan asked, placing tiles down to form the word _joke_.

"Not again!" Daniel took the game board and shook it, releasing all the holographic pieces onto the floor.

"HEYY! I had gotten 42 points from that last word!"

"I know. That's why I did that." He replied.

"You're lucky I love you enough to start over." She grinned and shook the board to shuffle to the tiles.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_Lucas fell off his hoverboard when he tried doing a loop-D-loop :(_

**Lucas Taylor **Oww my head..  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Jun Kirman **You're not supposed to be on Facebook while you're injured!

**Imogen Yale **Aww, you okay Lucas? :)

**Lucas Taylor **Maybe..

**Imogen Yale **Did you beat them "Fortree Punks"?

**Lucas Taylor **Sure did! :D

**Jun Kirman **That's because they didn't want to copy your stunt T_T

**Sherry Brogan **Want me to kiss ur booboo to make it all better? ;)  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>"Ms. Megan said Fortree city was like a playground.." Ashka muttered, walking along a gigantic wooden branch with railings that was considered a "sidewalk", "I guess she was right."<p>

Gerard was behind her and hurried her to the next platform because the heights were making him nauseous. "I think you mean _that_ thing." He pointed his head at the playground they had just treaded upon. Her Prinplup and his Ralts ran up to the playground to go play. There were three, large pastel colored intertwining slides that lit up in rings whenever passed through, a highly elaborate jungle gym with rusted bars, a pirate's peephole with a Solrock "steering wheel", a walking deck in the shape of a Barboach, a set of swings, and an awning overhead that looked vaguely like the lily pad of a Lotad.

"Reminds me of first grade." Ashka sighed as she reminisced. The wind picked up and she zipped up her hoodie.

Gerard climbed up the Barboach's back to the top of the slide where his Ralts was. "Hey, wanna slide?" He called to Ashka, still just staring at the playground.

"Pfft, no. I'm not a kid." She pointed out.

He shrugged. "You're loss. I'll just slide down with Ralts." He sat, Ralts on his lap. "Weeeee!" The two shrieked as they slid down fast, making it look like they were having a bit _too _much fun for such a short ride. Their heads popped out from the bottom where it was an Ekans's tongue and Gerard looked up at Ashka teasingly.

"Ralts!" Shrieked his Ralts, wanting to ride again.

"Yeah, you should slide with us! Come on, you can't say no to this face." Gerard said, pointing to Ralts.

"That 'face' doesn't have eyes." Ashka deadpanned.

"Dammit, I'm getting you to slide!" He laughed, nudging her onto the playground. She climbed up reluctantly and sat on the edge of the blue slide that resembled a Gyarados. Gerard placed Ralts in her lap and sat behind her, his legs encasing hers. With a heavy push the two were slipping down the plastic, a _snap snap _sound clicking whenever Ashka's hair touches the roof of the slide.

They came to a slow stop and Ashka pulled out her 'Gear.

"Can I take a picture?"

"DO ETTT" Gerard laughed, already sticking his tongue out for the photo-op.

"Ralts!" Ralts shrieked, putting its arms up, still thinking they were moving.

After several photographed poses Ashka left Gerard at the tip of the slide to observe the city from the pirate's peephole near the entrance of the slides. She peered through the screwed-in binoculars, getting a glimpse of the townspeople swinging on vines like primates and the lack of hovercrafts flying around. Apparently this was one of the towns that banned it.

Ashka looked to her left where the bark of the tree was. She peered at it and found something laser-inscribed.

DB + MV  
>3006<p>

In a heart.

"Gerard, look what I found!" She called from atop the barrel-sized peep-deck. He came moments later and instantly spotted the engraving.

"Oh wow, old school." He muttered, taking a picture of it.

"You think it's them?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's their initials right?"

"I think so..." Ashka peered up higher into the trees. "Look, more engravings! ...Wow this tree is old."

"Here, let's add our own mark." Gerard said. He used the laser in his 'Gear to carve AS & GE, but did not draw a heart around it. Under their initials he put 3011.

Ashka smiled and took his 'Gear and added, BFFAEAEAEAE.

"Just curious—what does that stand for?"

She laughed and said, "Best friends, forever and ever and ever and ever."

He laughed along, although he tried his best to hide his grimace.

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>posted picture "_SLIDE! :D_" Tagged: **Ashka Storme**, **Gerard Eckhart**  
>7 people like this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **Aww its official now ;P

**Ashka Storme **NO WE'RE NOT

**Serena Valliya **Yeah. That position is a 'best friend' position. *sarcasm*

**Ashka Storme **-.- We were sitting on a slide.

**Sherry Brogan **He's still got his arms around you

**Jun Kirman **Aww...can I like this twice?

**James Lopreo **I want to take a picture like this :'(

**Gerard Eckhart **This picture is my screensaver :P

**Serena Valliya **Aww...

**Lucas Taylor **:O This picture speaks MANY words XD  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Daniel Bay <strong>_Everyone please return to the Pokémon Center—we have a new friend to welcome.  
><em>2 people like this, 5 people dislike this

**Jun Kirman **YAY!

**Irene Connor **ANOTHER one? :l

**Lucas Taylor **Dang. We can start our own fan club with all these frakkin' people..

**James Lopreo **Aren't we already a club?

**Sherry Brogan **Is it a boy or girl? :O

**Imogen Yale **I hope we all get along well :)

**Jun Kirman **I agree! :D Please **Amber **and **Lucas**, put away those eggs.

**Amber Hendrix **Damn :[

**Lucas Taylor **I wasn't going to use them for that!...I was going to bake a cake!

* * *

><p>The teens all returned to the outside of the pokémon center, 1000 feet above sea level. Daniel and Megan were waiting for them at the black helipad jutting towards the sky on the second level of the 'Center, looking much like a balcony or patio. A very tall, chain link fence surrounded the edge of the helipad so that no idiot would walk off and fall into the abyss of trees. The teens climbed the steps to the helipad and peered up into the sky, looking for the hover vehicle containing their new camper.<p>

"What's he or she coming in?" Jun asked, shielding his eyes from the intense light of the sun.

"I thought hovercrafts were banned in this city." muttered Serena as they lined up along the side of the fence.

"They are." Megan said as they got close. "But our new friend is coming by helicopter."

"Why's he have to come _now_? I've got things to do!" groaned James, who was still trying to figure out the last anomaly of the time travel sequence. He couldn't do that out here, in the open, with other people around.

Everyone glared at his rude comment.

"Let's welcome the new guy with a smile, okay?" Imogen asked.

"Or girl! But I hope it's a guy." Sherry said, grinning suggestively.

"I hope he doesn't ask to be added to our Facebook group." Lucas muttered, typing away.

"Is that it?" Irene asked, pointing to an object soaring through the sky, leaving a purple streak through the clouds.

"No...that's a spaceship," Daniel answered, squinting to see it better. Irene's eyes widened when she realized what it was. He said, "Weird...I've never seen that kind of spaceship before." He was starting to recall what Ross had said a few days ago. _This one was not from our world._

Irene quickly pointed to another direction in the sky. "Look! A cloud in the shape of a Cloyster!" Everyone turned their heads in that direction, and the spaceship that they had seen zipped off at top speed.

Zane tipped his head to the side. "Looks like a hotdog bun to me."

"What's a hotdog?" Jun asked cluelessly.

"I think he means frankfurters." Lucas clarified in a low tone. Jun went 'oh'.

_P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-_

"There it is!" Daniel said in relief. A red-striped helicopter loomed overhead, tipping forward to move forward. It lowered down, shooting white beams down on the helipad to warn them where they were landing. As it got lower the wind picked up, whipping Ashka, Megan, Serena, Irene, Imogen, and Sherry's hair everywhere. Even Amber had to hold down her hair sprayed hair. The guys on the other hand didn't give a damn that their hair was in their faces.

The 'copter pittered out as the chopper blades drifted to a stop. The pilot was making hand signals to Daniel, who only just put up his hands and shrugged. The big doors slid to the side, revealing the single passenger who still hadn't made an effort to unbuckle his seatbelt. He was wearing wireless headphones and watching something on a tablet.

"Yay! It's a guy!" Sherry cheered.

"SIDE BURNS! MUST WORSHIP! I AM NOT WORTHY!" Nicolas gasped and began bowing to the guy who had still not turned away from his tablet.

"...Is he coming out to meet us?" Ashka muttered.

"He probably thinks you'll bite." Gerard teased, nudging her.

"HEY! KID! GET OUT OF THERE!" Amber screamed into the helicopter.

"Hey, no need to yell!" Daniel snapped.

"Paru, are you ready to meet everyone?" Megan climbed onto the 'copter with one foot and nudged off his headphones. He looked up with strained blue eyes as if he'd been watching TV in the dark for five hours straight.

"Do I have to...?" He whined. Since he looked so much older, it was strange to see him act as so.

"Come on, it'll be fun." She reassured, offering a hand as she hopped off the 'copter and onto the cement. He sighed, unbuckled his seatbelt, and stuffed his tablet into the front zipper of a grey rucksack with light-up zippers. Once his feet touched the ground, he took a good look at the people he'd have to spend the rest of his summer with.

_Hm. Looks like a good cast for a TV show. _He thought.

_Wow. Someone has superior sideburns. _Was what Ashka was thinking instead. The other teens stared at him as well, unimpressed to what had been brought to the table. The guy had blue, unfocused eyes due to all that time watching TV, and dark blonde, messy hair that looked as affected as the females' from the 'copter. He wore a Swellow-themed hoodie, unzipped, and a black t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"Hi!" Jun said enthusiastically.

Irene grinned. How come _he_ always gets to say hi first? "Hi there Mr. Sideburns!"

"...Hello." Paru replied boredly, instantly stomping on both of their good moods.

Daniel suppressed the urge to shake some life into Paru and stood next to him—the two were about the same height, with Daniel having just a teeny bit more muscle—and saying that was a lot, because they were barely visible. "Alright," He said, nudging him forward. "This is our conjoined group, all...one, two,...twelve of us. Did I leave out anyone? No. Why don't you introduce yourself—where you're from, what class you're in, and why you decided to join us so late in the journey."

"...Oh," Paru looked nervously to the new group of people he'd have to learn the names of. It was easier to catch on to sitcom characters. "My name's Paru. I'm in the medical field, a senior in high school...oh, and I'm from Castelia City."

"Me too!" Lucas grinned, sending him an air high-five that didn't get returned.

"Why you come late den?" Nicolas wondered, looking up with a boyish pout.

It was a good question, albeit grammatically incorrect, but the others were curious to know. Paru was frying under their gazes.

"What were you doing all this time?" Megan asked gently.

"Watching TV." He admitted, getting giggles from a few of the others. He attempted to save himself. "See, I was watching my favorite Spanish hospital drama, because it was a whole marathon and all, and by the time I had gotten up to pee I had missed my plane!" He explained very quickly. "And my parents were trying to get me onto another plane, but they had to save up some more money and I missed it while watching the Christmas special of el Muerto de Mew! But it was worth it, the ending was so tragic..."

Daniel stared at him with eyes wanting to roll. "Yeah...you'll fit with us _very _well."

* * *

><p><em>Paru <em>was added to group Summer Trek 3011.  
>3 people like this<p>

**Serena Valliya **Just Paru? That's weird. What's your last name?

**Paru **noyb

**Serena Valliya **stiff u then.

**Lucas Taylor **Is that your version of stfu? XD

**Jun Kirman **It doesn't matter your name :3 you're a cool guy. With awesome sideburns X)  
>4 people agree<p>

**Paru **yea, I get that a lot tbqh

**Sherry Brogan **I SUPER love your profile picture ;D

**Paru **It's the default picture.

**Lucas Taylor **OHHH he got you XDD  
>2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_I'm VERY close to solving the puzzle. I'm sending someone's pokémon an hour into the future. Any...volunteers?  
><em>3 people dislike this

**Imogen Yale **As much as I like you, I don't think anyone will sacrifice their pokémon for something that could go horrible wrong.  
>Ashka Storme likes this<p>

**James Lopreo **...You like me? :3  
>Lucas Taylor thinks he's desperate<p>

**Imogen Yale **Yeah...as a friend of course, as I do everyone's pokémon. It's not ethical to use pokémon as lab rats.

**Serena Valliya **Well, someone has to be the lab rat. I just feel sorry for that person :l  
>Jun Kirman agrees with this<p>

**Jun Kirman **Why don't you use your own?

**James Lopreo **Well...

**Imogen Yale **See?

**James Lopreo **Then how do I know if it'll bring Zane back?

**Amber Hendrix **I'll volunteer my Yamask if it ends this stupid post.  
>Imogen Yale dislikes this<p>

**Imogen Yale **Seriously Amber, ur a pita

**Nicolas Wolf **Mr. D pokémon?

**Amber Hendrix **OHH, so I'm a pita now? :[  
>Sherry Brogan dislikes this<p>

**James Lopreo **People, people...let's keep the lingo to a rating K. We've got children reading here -.-  
>Nicolas Wolf and Irene Connor dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>While the teens were out exploring, all except for Paru who decided to watch more hospital dramas on blue-ray, Daniel and Megan were playing another round of 3-D Upwords. The current tiles stacked onto the game board-sized tablet spelled out <em>sub<em>, _bomb_, _mode_, and _teary_.

"It shouldn't take five minutes to make a word." Megan teased, leaning over the hologram of the bracket hiding her tiles.

Daniel scanned his useless 8 letters over and over. "This requires precision! ...And thought! ...And a dictionary!" He retorted.

"Okay, I'll wait." She sighed, stifling her giggle. He finally figured out his next move and tapped the tiles _pukes _onto the spaces using the _s _from _sub_. As soon as his finger left the board, the tiles fabricated into holographic pieces that looked very much real.

"Ay mío! Esmeralda, not the basement!" Paru howled from the room a few feet over.

"Your turn." Daniel sang. Megan tapped in _meep _just as his styler started vibrating with Rori from Mauville's ranger station's holographic picture beaming up from the cover. "That's not a word." He pointed out.

"Yeah it is. And are you going to answer that?" Her eyes were set on his styler.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll let it go to voicemail." He muttered, sliding away from the styler sitting next to the potted vampire rose. "Rori scares me a little. Every time she calls its usually for something bad."

"How many times has she called?"

"...Well, only once, but that led to a Skarmory problem." He muttered. Reluctantly, he voice commanded 'answer'. The styler popped open, revealing the hidden QUERTY keyboard and touch pad. The monitor screen careened up with Rori's face on it, the background somewhere in Mauville.

"_Hey! ...Where are you?_"

"Fortree." Daniel answered automatically.

The arm of the screen moved around like a wandering eyeball. "_No seriously, where ARE you, I can't see you! All I see is the ceiling!"_

He pressed a button on the keyboard that made a camera lens pop out of the side, with a flexible pole just like the arm of the monitor screen.

"_Oh! Now I see you!...Oh, who's winning? Meep isn't a word!"_

"Told ya." He said to Megan. "So Rori, what'cha need?"

"_Remember Rodolfo?_"

_Oh no..._ Daniel nevertheless nodded at the camera while tapping _kirk _onto the board.

"_His probation officer placed him in the hands of Ross to teach him good people's skills, which was a bad thing since he kept on degrading her with his pompous attitude. She's so fragile...oh, anyway, I'm sending him to you."_

"What?" He turned to the camera in dismay. Megan looked down to the board to occupy herself and tapped in _pity_.

"_You're a good ranger!_" Rori objected. "_You have very good people's skills compared to Ross, and she's rank S. Yeah. Trust me, if you can handle a dozen of angsty teenagers, you can handle Rodolfo. All he's going to do is tag along and learn from you and that girl next to you."_

"Megan." Megan clarified.

"_Yup, and Megan. He should be in Fortree in a few minutes. See ya!" _With that, Rori hung up, and her hologram shut off.

"Great. That means we only have a few more minutes of peace before _he _invades it." Daniel muttered. He put a _qu _on top of the _t _in _teary_. "Do you remember Rodolfo from college?"

Megan looked down at the game board gloomily. "Yeah..."

He caught the distress in her voice. That greatly alarmed him. "What, did he do something to you?"

Using the _m _from _meep_, she spelled _mean. _"It's more like what he _sent _that has given me chills at night." She looked up at him, reading his concerned face. "He keeps sending me emails and videos about what we'd do together if I got together with him. It's so...very...disgusting." She imitated a gag.

His 'brows flew up. "No. He _did_?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "He also does it anonymously so whenever I click the email, it goes immediately to some spam he sent. It's so annoying. Is he always a stalker?" She looked to him questioningly.

"He's _something_, but dragging you into it is going too far." He muttered. He stacked a _b _to make _beep _and _bean_. "I swear if I see that guy again..." Daniel shook his head. He still couldn't believe what he was hearing. Rodolfo was such a giant creeper now.

The 'Center doors beamed aside and an orange haired man stepped in, smirking devilishly and hands relaxing beside his head.

"Hello people who aren't as wonderful as me~"

It was Rodolfo. Daniel wrenched himself from the couch and stormed towards him like a train, dropping miniature statues and pamphlets in his path.

Rodolfo started walking backwards. "Please, I don't sign autographs..."

Daniel slammed his fist into Rodolfo's face, causing Rodolfo to stagger backwards and out the doors, tumbling and fumbling until he had hit the railing dividing him and the edge. Daniel stomped up to his face.

"_Stay _away from Megan, _got it_! Your face won't be the only thing hurting if you harass her again." He pointed his eyes at the ground and Rodolfo nodded quickly, holding his nose where it hurt the most, unable to breathe out of it. He understood the message.

Daniel walked back into the 'Center where Megan was standing, looking confused and frightened to why he had just attacked Rodolfo like that. He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly, believing only by doing this would he be able to keep her.

"Can't breathe Daniel..." She laughed lightly, unable to return the hug with her arms stuck in his. But she didn't mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Paru <strong>_I enjoyed watching Mr. D punch this random dude :D  
><em>5 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **wtf no way. He did?

**Amber Hendrix **Damn I miss everything

**Jun Kirman **I don't like this violence...  
>Paru dislikes this<p>

**Paru **Yeah. But I only saw it for a second before going back to the TV.

**Lucas Taylor **WHO DID HE PUNCH?

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_What's for dinner?_

**Serena Valliya **restaurant food

**James Lopreo **:D yay! I've successfully sent Yamask one hour into the future in that restaurant.  
>6 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_That guy from that holo-message? I saw an ad of him around town.  
><em>3 people like this

**Imogen Yale **Doing what?

**Ashka Storme **Advertising the Fortree Gym...

**Lucas Taylor **So he's the gym leader?

**Ashka Storme **Yeah. He's got this circus-theme going on.

**Irene Connor **This whole town is odd ._.  
>2 people agree<p>

* * *

><p>Darkness cast across the sky as soon as it became 7:12 pm. Floating kite lamps (similar to the flying lights in <em>Tangled<em>) scattered across town to illuminate the trees. Vines used for transportation sparkled with lights as if they were decorated with Christmas lights. Fortree at night was so very pretty, giving it a fantasy feel with the soft lights and earthy trees. Daniel and Megan had taken their groups to a restaurant carved into two trees with a buffet involving pokémon chasing you as you went to collect your food. It had a Halloween feel to it.

The hostess had given them a strange look when they said they wanted a table for 17. Mr. Valacio and Rodolfo had tagged along. They were seated at a table, which had previously been 3 separate ones, which had fishnet table cloths and imitation candles hovering at an odd angle.

Everyone except Daniel, Mr. Valacio, James, Zane, and Megan went to go get their food. Pita was sitting in a highchair.

"Ms. Megan, what do you know about Celebi?" James asked out of nowhere. Zane gave him a warning look.

"The legend?" She asked, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Hmm. Everyone knows that it can time travel. Hasn't been seen in centuries though."

"Why the sudden interest?" Daniel inquired. James was about to answer but Mr. Valacio beat him to it.

"Why _not_ the sudden interest? Celebi is a great pokémon to take interest in!" He said, grinning wildly. "Who doesn't like the prospect of time travel! The little sucker can flash in and out of whenever, _wherever_!"

"Can it take people with it?" James asked.

"Sure can!" Mr. Valacio said. "Where do you think my forearm went?"

Everyone gave him a dead look.

"Celebi? Why are you all talking about that myth?" asked the waitress as she began placing down glasses of drinks, although she had trouble figuring out which of the 17 glasses went to who.

"Just wondering." James shrugged.

"Yeah. You never know when you need to time travel." Zane muttered.

"What's the point? I'm sure all you'd do is try to get more sleep." Megan muttered.

Seconds later Jun and Lucas came back screaming with their plates raised above their heads. An Amoonguss was hopping after them, but paused at the entrance/exit to the buffet, then returned to the forest. Irene and Serena calmly followed after them.

"What did you get?" Zane asked, staring at the strange colors on their plates. Was that rice..._purple_?

"Hard to tell. I was trying not to drop anything on my way here." Lucas muttered, staring at his plate to decipher the contents.

* * *

><p>Zane walked out of the bathroom with this thought going on in his head: <em>Why the hell do bathrooms of the future have to be so complicated? I just want to do my business, flush, and go. I don't need cheerleaders with it. <em>

"Psst! Fedora boy!"

He looked to the left where the door to the kitchen was, wide open and revealing the steam of the things currently cooking. The waitress for his table was motioning for him to come inside but he was suspicious to why. As he walked in he kept a pokéball in his hand.

"You say you wish to see Celebi, right?" She asks over the island between them.

"I guess. It'd be nice to see it in person." Zane shrugged.

She leaned closer and whispered, "I know you're not from this..._time_. My family has been in contact with Celebi and I want to help you. Use this." She uncovered a small silver flute with one hole from under her hand. Zane picked it up and inspected it. "That is the Time Flute."

"You think it'll work?"

"It always works." She said with a nod.

He went over to the hollowed out window in the tree wall and blew on the whistle. The sound was inaudible to him, but from the vibrations of the flute he knew it was working. He peered outside to find it. But there was nothing.

Everything grayed out again, and Zane was the only one who could move or see it. Space warped, pinched in, and then plopped out with a black pokémon being spit out. Color returned and Amber's Yamask looked up at him warily.

Zane's eyes widened. _It...worked._

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_Are we all still going vine-swinging tonight?_

**Kaisei Arcan **Why would you...it's like...9. You should be in bed mister -.-

**Jun Kirman **But I wanna swing! T_T

**Lucas Taylor **It's too dark to do that buddy.

**Jun Kirman **Not fair...we're going to challenge the gym tomorrow and then we're leaving, and we never get to go vine riding!

**Ashka Storme **We might not leave yet. You never know.

**Irene Connor **I'll go! :D

**James Lopreo **Wait, guys! I'm about to send Zane off! Don't you want to say goodbye?  
>3 people like this<p>

**Amber Hendrix **No. Goodbye Zany.  
>4 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>"So when is this actually happening?" Gerard asks, down in the basement with James and Zane and the others who wanted to witness the convoluted scheme.<p>

"Just one more wire!" James said, plugging things in and setting up his laptop to a remote-like thing. The time extractor was on the same coordinates from when it sent Yamask into the future but now he changed the time to 2012, just around the same time he extracted Zane. Zane just sat in a chair, unsure if this all would really work. He was nervous something bad would come of it.

The others who were here included Ashka, Jun, Irene, and Imogen. Paru had wanted to come but they didn't want to expose the time traveling secret to him. He thought their "time travel" conversation on Facebook was just a plot and accepted it as so, but being rejected didn't faze him. He went back to watching TV.

"So what happens if Zane makes it back safely?" Ashka asks.

James shrugged. "Thing will return as though he never came...assuming he does everything he had done before I extracted him. Hopefully knowledge on the future won't disrupt anything in his era."

Jun blinked. "...Wha...?"

"I don't understand!" Irene whined, next to the hole in the tree-wall. The city above and below was loud, but not city loud—forest loud. They could all hear the cries of people and pokémon instead of the horns of robots and hovercrafts. It was a quaint change. Jun joined her at the window and looked outside, breathing in the cool breeze of the night.

A small green thing flew past, sparkles in its trail.

"...Did you see that?" Jun asked Irene.

"You saw that too? I thought it was a hallucination." Irene said in a relieved voice.

"What are you two talking about?" Ashka said, joining them at the window. Gerard didn't want to be left out and came closer to see out it. Soon enough all of their heads blocked the window and Zane couldn't see out of it.

"What are you guys staring at?" Zane called at the back of their heads.

"There's a fairy outside!" Irene marveled.

"_Fairy_? I thought it was a pokémon." Jun muttered, looking completely lost now.

"It _is _a pokémon." Gerard said. "I just can't catch it with my pokédex to figure out what it is..."

"Move aside." Zane said, putting his hands between their bodies. The four moved and he stuck his head out of the hole and scoped around. The fall was pretty bad from here, considering he couldn't see the ground.

He caught a trail of sparkles.

And wings.

"I've got the extractor running!" James announced. He looked over to everyone. "Why're you guys crowding the window?"

"It's Celebi," Zane said, running to the door, surprising everyone with his effort to actually _run_, "We need to catch it! It's my only ticket back!" He was gone in a second, down the hall to the nearest exit.

"But the extractor is running...!" James protested. He looked back at the everyone crowding around the window. "JUN!...Why are you trying to crawl through the window? You won't fit!"

"Not unless you help me!" Jun whined.

"It'd be easier if both you and Irene weren't trying to crawl through it at the same time." Gerard muttered, getting a laugh in agreement from Ashka.

Zane was now outside and running along the bridges and planks to try and chase down Celebi. All he heard was its high-pitched squeal giggling about, and he followed the sparkles that faded fast. Celebi disappeared further into the forest and the only way to follow it was by swinging on vines.

"We're right behind you!" James said reassuringly from behind, his Skarmory ready to take off.

"It's easy! The vines are half metal!" Jun said. "Here, I'll go first!" He searched around for a lit up vine, found one, and climbed into the railing. He jumped off, vine in hand, and swung forward fast. Jun's scream didn't make Zane feel any better.

"Jun!" Irene gasped, looking down to see if he went splat. Jun's vine came back up and began connecting with others, making it easy to switch vines.

"Come on guys!" Jun called back.

Zane swapped looks with James and Irene, but they seemed set on the idea that the vines were safe. He took a deep breath, caught a vine that was coming near, and jumped off the guardrail.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His grip loosened and he hit a few planks, but he managed to keep hold on the vine until he neared another one. He went from vine to vine, James and Irene behind, until he caught sight of Jun unsure where to go. They were in a deeper part of the forest in a neighborhood district.

"Bii!" They heard.

"There it is!" Zane said, spotting a green glow near the ground. He climbed down the vine using the planks and landed on the ground. The others dropped next to him and nodded that they were safe.

"Wait, didn't Gerard and Ashka follow us?" Irene said as the guys started running towards the green light.

Zane, James, Jun, and Irene came upon a clearing. A small green pixie-like pokémon that had its own glow was plucking a vampire rose from the ground. It zipped into Zane's face and presented the flower, and he shrieked and backed up a step.

"CELEBI! A LEGEND!" James gasped.

"It's friendly." Jun noted as Celebi gave Irene the flower, seeing that Zane didn't want it.

"How do I get it to send me back?" Zane asked.

Celebi stared at them and smiled knowingly. It backed up and spun in the air gracefully. It put its palms together and thrust them forward.

The atmosphere in front of them began twisting clockwise, then counterclockwise. A portal emerged, and on the other side they saw a big white mansion with humans running in and out of it in haste.

"That's my house." Zane muttered in recognition. He wanted to touch it, just for a second. But he didn't want to go back yet.

"So...are you...going?" Irene asked delicately. "I mean...wow, the past looks really...clean. And old."

"Looks like a cool place to be." Jun sighed, wishing he could go too. Celebi came around the other side of the portal and motioned for Zane to come in.

"I should leave the time traveling to the pokémon legends." James said hesitantly, still afraid to be in Celebi's presence. Celebi smiled brightly and still gestured for Zane to go forward.

"But..." Zane trailed off. _Do I want to go? Do I...do I want to give up this bright, futuristic world where there are no problems? Back home there are gangs...and violence...and deaths..._He looked back at Fortree city, literally lit up like a Christmas tree. _But...this place wouldn't be here without me...and my grandkids..._

"...Zane?" James cocked his head to the side.

Zane turned around to face the three. He took a big breath. "It was...really great to meet you guys. Thank you for this glimpse into the future."

"Thanks for the stories of the past." Jun replied warmly.

"I hope you survive the meteor shower of 2072!" Irene smiled, waving goodbye swiftly.

"Wait—what?" Zane had already stepped one foot into the past but it was too late to stop. Time paused again, everything in monochrome excluding Celebi. The portal was dark and Zane was afraid to step in any further. His heart lurched forward and he felt like it was the end.

Someone was running towards him in the darkness, hand waving and blonde hair bouncing.

Lexi emerged and ran forward and stopped in front of him.

"Thank you, very great grandpa Zane." She whispered, hugging him tightly. She didn't want to let him go but she could already feel him disappearing back into his own time.

The last she heard was, "...Are you saying that because I'm _that_ great or because you don't know how many people came before me?"

* * *

><p>Lexi opened her eyes, confused. She recognized the place she was in as the 'Center's bathroom, but she couldn't remember why. The last thing she saw was meeting that Zane guy at the train station, and then she was...here? She checked her 'Gear.<p>

_Holy crap! I've been gone for almost a week! ...But where did I go?_

She stepped out of the bathroom and into the 'Center lobby. Everything was so familiar, her heart was swelling because of how much she missed it. She didn't even realize she was missing it.

She gasped. She saw Daniel, and Megan! Oh, and there's Serena! And Jun and Irene! Ashka! Gerard! James! Rodolfo's kids!

"Guys!" She cried, running towards the TV area everyone was surrounding.

"It's Lexi!" Irene gasped.

"Was she ever gone?" Ashka muttered, but she was grinning.

"Don't go missing ever again young lady!" Megan scolded, but she was smiling.

"I won't! Promise!" Lexi squealed, happy to be back, from...wherever she went. She hugged James, and he let out a girly shriek and went off to go "blog about it". "Wait, where's—" She said, looking for a certain...

"Hey, my friend Lexi is back." Lucas came in from the 'Center doors, grinning widely.

"Lucas!" Lexi cried, running to hug him. She was surprised—she missed him _too_? Where had she gone that she needed to touch _him_?

"I promise not to ruin your hug." Lucas said when she finally approached him, arms wide.

"I don't care! Just come 'ere!" She said, and collapsed a hug onto him. He grinned and hugged her back, filling in what had been missing for the past few days. He was wondering who was missing. He didn't even try to aim lower for the hug, just so he could hold her longer.

Lexi looked through the window of the 'Center at the sky. She felt like some people from the heavens were looking at her, nodding approvingly. She didn't mind this time.

Her face went red. "_LUCAS!"_

He jumped and removed his arms. "The opportunity was too hard to pass up!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hola! :D I'm sorry. I think I handled that last Zane part very terribly. And Lexi's reunion. That seemed very...unrealistic. Idk. Tell me what you think. Also, remember the Upwords game? That was actually me playing myself XD I was surprised with how many words I got actually. I just don't know...how to win O_O there are no numbers are scoring or...idk...<strong>

**NEXT CHAPTER is the gym chapter, it's going to be my favorite and I'm anticipating it. There's a poll for who's going to challenge the gym so VOTE! The poll will be opened till Monday. I will need to take 2-3 weeks at most to finish this (...and other things) so I hope you guys don't mind the delay.**

**Thanks for reading! :D**

**P.S. Any errors will be corrected tomorrow.**


	20. Circus

**Chapter Nineteen - Circus **_Friday, the 12th day since everyone met at the airport. Fortree City, pokemon center around 7 am._

The next morning the campers were already up and running down the halls with their pokémon in anticipation for their future gym battles by 7 am. _BANG BANG BANG _rumbled the floor outside the rangers' room. Megan ignored it and continued to drift in sleep-land while Daniel was stuffing his head under his pillow in hopes of drowning out the noise.

"AAAAREBA!" Paru shouts down the hall, and a crowd of loud footsteps seem to thud behind him. _BANG BANG_, it sounded like it was Magnetic storming in the hall.

"Ugh...some fatasses are running down the hall..." Daniel grumbled under the pillow.

"No...it's an earthquake..." Megan murmurs from beside him.

"Like hell it is." He scoffed.

Quiet seemed to last for a few seconds before the stampede started across the hall again. This time the door was opened and they could hear an amass of different sounds...and an elephant cry? Nicolas peeped his head inside and grinned boyishly.

"Vayamos!" He squealed, then shut the door and joined the crowd.

"...What he say?" Daniel muttered.

"I don't know...something about beaches..." Megan replied, just as clueless.

* * *

><p>Lexi was reaching for the napkin dispenser that was placed ridiculously high above her head. Her tray of cereal and powder milk was trembling in her one hand as she focused the other one to reaching the tip of the napkin.<p>

"Allow me." Lucas came from behind her, reached over her head, and pulled down a handful of napkins. She gratefully accepted it.

"Why so nice?" She asked suspiciously as she followed him down the breakfast buffet line. He was staring at the giant piled up Iapapa berries in one of the bins.

"Why not?" He replied.

"Because it's not...like you." She said. _Not unless you're getting something out of it, that is._

He grinned, and she stared up at his oddly colored spiky blue hair. He was pretty cute for a junior, but she wouldn't admit it out loud. He said, "Where'd you go anyway? Both you and Serena just disappeared one day. Kind of creepy if you think about. Did you go on a lesbian rendezvous together?"

She gave him a dead look. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because you two are close! You share bras and girly things and go missing at the same time..." Lucas said, moving down the line.

She snapped back to his side as he walked like a yoyo, determined to get these thoughts out of his head. "We don't do that! I on the other hand am suspicious if you and Jun share...umm..." He looked at her, amused at her speculating face. "You share underwear!"

"Eew. Never." His face twisted in disgust. "Not even with my girlfriend. That's just unsanitary."

"Oh, so you have a girlfriend?" She asked, smiling at the prying. This was the most she's ever gotten him to open up.

"No, but the position is open." He smirked suggestively and took his tray to the table. She glared at his back and shook her hair over her face so that no one would see her blush.

"GYM GYM GYM GYM!" Nicolas cried, running into the cafeteria with a to-go breakfast bar.

"What's he spazzing about now?" Ashka inquired from the table with half of the group.

"A guy named Jim?" Gerard shrugged, looking strangely at the lavender haired one.

Irene pranced up to the table from the door to the lobby. "Guys!" She shrieked. "Hurry up and eat! The gym is waiting!"

James shoveled everything on his tray into his mouth and stood. "Dumth!" He said through the mouthful.

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_Gymward ;) _4 people like this

**Lexi Redstone **Which pokémon are you using?

**Sherry Brogan **Idk. I'm just gonna wing it.

**Lexi Redstone **-.-

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_I finally get a chance to get a gym badge! YAY! :D_

**Lucas Taylor **We'll do awesome :P

**Gerard Eckhart **I heard the Mauville gym opened back up.

**Lucas Taylor **-.-

**Amber Hendrix **I don't feel like battling the gym leader, but I'll go anyway, just to laugh in you guys' face when you lose 2 people dislike this

**Serena Valliya **You never know. We've all grown on this journey 2 people like this

**Amber Hendrix **Ah go away point Dexter

**James Lopreo **I didn't say anything T.T

**Serena Valliya **...minx.

**Amber Hendrix **Back atcha tube top!

**Serena Valliya **Did you forget to put on pants this morning? 3 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **XD lmao best quote of the morning

* * *

><p>After a relaxing hour walk through the city, the group of 17 (including Rodolfo and Mr. Valacio, who wanted to watch the battles) arrived at a circus-decorated building with wild colored exterior walls striping down the side and the overall building looking to be about six stories high. The front had an opening of arches similar to those of a regular stadium, except the stadium was on the top level where they could see bleacher seats and the rest of the floors below it were unknown.<p>

"Looks cool." Lucas noted as they walked to the entrance.

They all stopped at the front desk where there was nowhere else to go other than the elevator to the left that was labeled STADIUM.

"So...do we go in there?" Jun asked, pointing at the transparent elevator doors.

"Of course!" Rodolfo said, head held high. "There is no other way to go! Follow me!" He traipsed fancily towards the elevator, going unfollowed except for Nicolas who had no choice, since his leash was attached to him.

"Actually..." Megan said as multicolored lights began blazing through the area.

"Aliens have taken over! Hit the deck!" James shouted randomly.

"It's not an alien! It's meeee hehehe!" Shouted a man that sounded like he was in a back room. He sounded familiar. "Well, okay, with my strangeness I guess it is an alien." The person mumbled. Out from the middle hallway, the pin-striped suit man from the previous holo-message appeared, top hat and cane and all.

"It's the creeper!" Sherry gasped from the back of the group.

"So _you_ then?" Lucas retorted. She sent him a look. Ashka and Gerard were swapping distressed looks as Daniel and Megan walked up to greet him. They all were staring at the three with a faint memory of the rangers being tied up in chairs, pulled into the darkness, and the creepy guy with the suit twirling his fake mustache.

"Who gets to battle him first?" Lexi asked, secretly wishing it was her, although everyone could tell that she wanted to be first just by the greedy look on her face.

"I choose!" The pin-striped suit gym leader shrieked. "Name's Darryl, by the way." He said in a semi-serious voice that actually seemed like the correct pitch of his voice instead of the high-girly one he keeps using.

"Nice to meet you!" Jun sang from behind Lucas.

"..." Darryl stared for a few seconds, then continued. "Anyway—my gym is like many others—we battle, we have fun, and if you win you get your prize. If you don't win—well, you go home feeling crappy, or something along those lines." Mid-speech, Nicolas interrupted.

"Are you going to kill us if you win?" He asked innocently, still believing that he had kidnapped his rangers.

"...No..." Darryl trailed off. "I'm not interested in manslaughter. Alien manslaughter, maybe." He shrugged nonchalantly, which made Irene visibly uncomfortable. "Anyway—none of you will be battling me—"

At this, everyone instantly groaned and displayed faces of disappointment.

"—Hold on! I wasn't finished!" He snapped. "In my Gym, you have to solve a puzzle."

"What kind of puzzle?" James asked in interest. "I'm good in riddles, and jigsaw puzzles! What's black, white, and red all over? Arceus with the flame plate!"

"...Seriously, stop interrupting me." Darryl muttered, a bit frustrated now. "You'll all be going through a maze. The Gym has several floors—many go underground, many go into "another dimension" if you will—those who reach the top floor of the Gym get to battle me first. Every room you go through is different, and you'll have a set of doors to choose from that will determine whether you go backwards or forwards on the track. You'll be going in groups of 4, although I see you're a particularly _large _group so one of you will have a fifth person."

Everyone nonchalantly looked at Paru, their latest and most TV-absorbed member. In fact, he was the only one not listening, because he was so consumed in a remake of the Harry Potter films.

"Do we get to choose our groups?" Lucas asked, looking flirtatiously at Lexi. She gave him a bored look, although underneath she was giggling.

"Nope! It's at random!" Darryl grinned.

"Everyone, put your 'Gear's into this hat and we'll choose at random." Daniel said, swiping Darryl's hat off and holding it out for people to drop in their electronics. Side by side, all in the same hat, it made it obvious that everyone had the same model 'Gear. It was a little pathetic.

"Wait!" Lucas cried, fishing out his 'Gear. "I need to change my screensaver for...reasons."

After a second Lucas dropped his 'Gear back into the hat and Megan took it and shook it up. James was wincing as he heard his 'Gear clang against the others. Sure, he wasn't sure which one was his in the mix, but the clanking sound to him was like baby cries. Irene looked at the hat helplessly, for she too could not stand to see her screen scratched.

Rodolfo got a chance to be useful for once and had to cover his eyes as he reached into the hat and pulled out the first device his fingers touched. Megan took a look at the screen.

"Who has a screensaver of a tree?"

"Oh, that's me." Ashka chuckled bashfully and accepted her 'Gear back.

"Alright! Group 1 is in effect!" Darryl cheered. "Stand over here tree-hugger." He pointed next to him. She glared at him and passed the hat to stand there.

Rodolfo reached in and took another one. The screen was of six pairs of headphones, each a different color. Lexi smiled and stepped forward. Ashka groaned mentally, already despising the group. She was silently hoping Gerard's would be next, and his screensaver should be both of them with his Ralts on the slide.

The next one was a picture of Lucas, and thankfully, was Lucas's 'Gear and not Sherry's like many had assumed. The last one...an anime picture.

"Yay! We have Serena! We're going to win for sure." Lexi cheered as Serena made her way over to them. Ashka sighed—she had really wanted Gerard on her team. Oh well, she could IM him once they got separated.

"Next group!" Darryl said, Grand Jete-ing to the spot across from group 1.

Daniel reached into the hat next and pulled out a bedazzled pink 'Gear. The picture was of Lucas, though.

"Lucas, did you put your..._other _PokéGear in here too to increase your chances of getting into Lexi's group?" Megan inquired with a lifted brow.

"Actually, it's mine!" Sherry giggled. She took her 'Gear and stood where Darryl was, ignoring the creepy looks the others were giving her. The next 'Gear extracted from the hat was a screencap from El Muerto de Mew. Paru nearly missed it hadn't he paused his show to rewind the part where in the movie the guy tripped. The next 'Gear was Gerard's, and Megan had gushed at the picture. That had gotten him and Ashka red in the face and they couldn't meet eyes.

"The team is looking awfully...bad." Gerard muttered to himself. It was him, Paru, and Sherry. He couldn't think of anyone else that could make the team any worse.

"That 'Gear is mine!" Jun shrieked, pointing at the white 'Gear with the screensaver of a Whismur.

_Apparently I was wrong. _Gerard thought as Jun pranced over with an elated grin.

"The rest of you will be group 3." Darryl said, taking his hat and passing it around so the rest could get their 'Gears. This group consisted of James, Amber, Imogen, Nicolas, and Irene.

Sherry looked longingly over to the other group that had her two best friends. "Aww man, I'm in the wrong group!"

"So where to now?" Daniel asked as Darryl assumed leader position at the front of the line in the hallway.

"I'm hoping the bathroom—this old guy gotta _go_..." Mr. Valacio muttered to the side. Megan muttered "excuses excuses".

Darryl led them down the hallway and down a platform to an area with three doors equally spaced from each other—all were the same color, red—but they had different numbers—1, 2, and 3. He told the groups to choose their doors, and after several moments of rearranging themselves, the teens had finally chosen their paths.

"Surprises wait at the end of every door. I will need everyone to relinquish their 'Gears, tablets, communication devices—ah, and pokéballs. Only 2 per group." He said, receiving more groans. The devices and capsules were handled much more nicely this time and stored in their own individual boxes that Daniel and Rodolfo took to holding.

"How do we call for help if we get lost or hurt?" James asked, feeling empty and naked without any buttons to push.

Darryl took out handheld iPad-type items from his pockets that turned out to be personal GPSs that he constructed himself. He gave one to each group, given to their self-appointed leaders—Ashka, Gerard, and James—and then bid them luck. "You've all got 2 hours before the crowd that is watching you gets bored. Try to get out as fast as you can."

"People will be watching us?" Lexi asked, her voice a little frightened. Sherry began fixing her hair.

"Gym's are put on TV all the time." Paru said, a master on this subject. "We're probably going to be seen by millions, depending on how popular his show is."

"My show is on prime time! You guys better make this interesting to up my ratings!" Darryl grinned deviously. "Anymore questions before you start?"

"Yeah...can we switch groups?" Amber deadpanned. She was ignored.

"Good luck." Megan said as the doors all opened at once.

Behind door one—a rollercoaster car.

Behind door two—a slide.

Behind door three—a hallway. Gerard and his group walked forward into the dark hall, uncertain to when there would be light. No one had touched the door behind them, yet it closed with an echoing _SLAM_.

"It's dark..." Jun whimpered.

* * *

><p>"WHEN IS THIS SLIDE ENDING!" Lexi screamed in Ashka's ear unintentionally as they continued sliding down the plastic pathway rapidly, much like the flume rides at the waterpark without the water.<p>

"Hold me?" Lucas said loudly, already having his arms around her waist as they were all sitting in line-fashion on a 4-person tube.

"Not now Lucas!" She shrieked, closing her eyes as their incline became steeper.

"Weeeee." Serena said from the back, holding onto the clips at the side.

"You make Ashka sound fun." Lucas deadpanned from the slot in front of her.

"HEY!" Ashka yelled from the front, offended.

Lights were blinking above them as they sped through the tunnel, and they soon found why. They saw a glass wall with a lit up room approaching, but there was a problem—they couldn't stop.

"Panic! Panic!" Ashka shrieked, leaning back onto Lexi in hopes that she wouldn't get hit first.

"We're gonna CRAAAASH—" shrieked Lexi, but she could not finish her sentence because their raft had hit the bump between the wall of glass and ended up flipping everyone out of the raft—causing Ashka and Lexi to slide the farthest as Lucas and Serena slapped onto the tile. They groaned in pain as that was by far a smooth landing.

"I'm starting to really hate this Gym..." Serena muttered, pulling herself from the ground. Lexi sat in exhaustion as did Lucas but Ashka stood up and analyzed the room. There were 3 doors—one orange, one yellow, one purple—but they were inches below the ceiling, which was almost fifty feet higher than where they were standing. There were various sized flat-faced pillars with handle-bar type ladders scaling them around the room, but even if they were to stand on them they wouldn't be able to reach the doors. There were big buttons on some of the pillars.

"I am...stumped. How do we get out of here?" Ashka asked, looking around. She held the tablet in her hand and began going through menus in hope for clues.

"The doors are up there." Serena pointed out, literally _pointing_.

"I _know _that." Ashka retorted bitterly. "But we can't reach it."

"Flying pokémon?" Lucas suggested obviously.

"We've only got _your _Pachirisu and _my _Sceptile. You think they'll grow wings and get us out of here?" She said. Everyone fell silent. She was so demanding, getting so frustrated, that it was taking the fun out of this whole labyrinth.

"Maybe we can...reach it?" Lexi thought aloud. She looked up at the shortest pillar and began climbing it. Lucas watched and wondered what the heck she was doing.

"Wait, I found a hint." Ashka said, pressing a '?' icon on the menu of the tablet. "It says...climb the pillars for a surprise. Okay..."

"I can't climb this pillar—there's a button taking up all the space!" Lexi exclaimed from the pillar she had partially climbed. Lucas began climbing the pillar a few feet from hers, and it was just as tall. Ashka climbed the tallest pillar, this one buttonless. Serena was still on the ground, confused.

"Maybe the buttons are supposed to be pressed?" Serena suggested.

"I'll press mine!" Lexi said. She slammed her fist down onto the button, pushing it in place. There was an _AH! AH! AH! _alarm going off, and large amounts of water began pouring in like a bathtub from the corners of the room.

"It's going to flood!" Ashka realized as the doorway in the glass wall began to shut.

"The raft!" Serena shrieked, and hurriedly ran after it and pulled it from the bump in the wall before the door snapped it and burst the air out. In almost twenty seconds the water was already at her knees. "Stop the water!" She said.

"How?" Lucas said.

"Maybe the other button will stop it!" Lexi said, pointing at his button. He slammed his fist on it as well, and water began surging in in torrents.

"Nope! Didn't work!" Ashka wailed, sitting atop the highest pillar. The water had reached Lexi's pillar and she climbed onto the raft that Serena had rowed over.

Lucas looked up to the doors and then at the water pouring in from the ceiling. "Wait! I think the water is going to help us get to the doors!" Ashka looked back and forth and saw that it would work too. The water reached Lucas's height and he had to swim over to the raft. The water stopped flowing, but they were still 10 feet below Ashka's pillar.

"Aww man, don't tell me we're stuck..." Lexi muttered, looking down at the floor far below them dejectedly.

"There are no more buttons!" Lucas said in frustration.

"What about that one?" Serena asked, pointing under water. There was a large green tile in the center of the room with a big yellow touch-sensor with the words "complete flood—off". Lexi looked down at it in disbelief.

"When was _that _there?"

"We should really pay attention more." Ashka muttered. "Who's going down there?" The three on the raft instantaneously pointed their eyes at her. "But...!" She knew it was futile to try and oppose. The swim down was almost 25 feet, and they still had that much left to reach the doors. _I won't be able to reach down there in one breath, _she calculated as she stripped off her hoodie and shoes and tossed it into the raft. One of her shoes landed on top of the water and Serena stretched to retrieve it. _I'll need Sceptile's help._

After a quick toss in the air, a green reptilian pokémon with thick thighs and foresty-tail landed into the water next to the raft. "Scept." He said, looking very bored to whatever they were doing.

"Her pokémon are _just _like her." noticed Lucas. Lexi elbowed him to shut up or she'd have him swim down there instead.

"Let's go Sceptile!" Ashka shouted, her voice bouncing off the walls. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, pinched her nose shut, and cannonballed into the water. _SPLASH! _Lexi shook off the water from the splash. Sceptile took a quick breath and bounded in after her, took her hand and began kicking its legs even faster.

Ashka peeped open one eye, counting how many seconds underwater. She saw the ground and poked the sensor with her finger, then immediately kicked off the ground and began jetting upwards, losing air quickly.

"COMPLETE FLOOD—ON." said a robotic voice around them. Water began flooding into the room even faster than before, and Ashka's eyes widened when she had yet to reach the surface.

"She can't make it!" Lexi shrieked in worry.

"Go after her!" Lucas said.

"Wait, I think her Sceptile's got her!" Serena said. Ashka's Sceptile took her by the waist and launched her up—Ashka's hands escaped the surface and Serena and Lexi grabbed them, pulled her up as fast as their strength could allow. Ashka inhaled deeply.

"Sceptile!" Ashka shrieked worriedly, as her Sceptile's eyes widened and couldn't climb to the surface as fast as the waterline rose. She dug into her pocket for the pokéball—

_Slip._

"NO!" She gasped, desperately reaching for the sphere, but it sank to the bottom—

Sceptile reached for the pokéball, touched the center button and was sucked in. Ashka sighed in relief.

"How are you going to get it?" Lucas asked as the pokéball began sinking to the bottom.

"I—"

"We're nearing the doors! Which one are we going to open?" Serena interrupted, worried that the water wouldn't stop until the whole room was submerged.

"That isn't important! Ashka's pokémon is sinking!" Lexi snapped. Serena looked down sheepishly.

Ashka was grateful for that. She wouldn't admit it out loud, though. "I have the retriever bracelet—I think I can get it!"

"Does that work underwater?" Lucas wondered as Ashka shook the metal-band around her left wrist.

"The door!" Serena pointed. They were getting closer...

"ORANGE!" Lucas and Lexi shrieked in unison. They swapped looks that summed up the expression '_okay...moving on..._'

Ashka's bracelet began to shimmer with heat, and the pokéball that was on the ground began sailing upwards to the magnet. Serena pulled them to the orange door and twisted the knob, pushed the door open. It was dark and they couldn't tell what was any further.

"Are you guys sure?" Serena asked, a little scared that they would fall into a dark pit.

The pokéball clipped to Ashka's bracelet, and she jumped into the raft just as the water hit the brim of the door and the raft began leaning forward. "Too late to change!" She said, pushing the raft forward in her seat. Sound zapped out of their ears as they began a ninety-degree decline to free-falling.

And all the audience watching through hidden cameras could do, was hear them scream.

* * *

><p>"Guys, this way!" Jun said, leading his teammates through a purple door. "I see light on the other side!"<p>

"I still can't believe the key was under my shoe!" Sherry exclaimed from right behind him. "_How _did that Darryl guy do that?"

"I saw this on TV once..." Paru remarked to himself.

Gerard was way behind, taking the courtesy to close the door behind him and walk at a leisurely pace down the hall where he caught Jun's ponytail, Sherry's fishnet-wearing legs, and Paru's sideburns. Gerard wondered what Ashka was doing. He couldn't communicate to the others with the tablet he had been given. All he had was the map and the dots on it indicating his location, Ashka's location, and James's location. Ashka was somewhere deep in the basement, rapidly moving somewhere.

"WAIT! I think we should stop moving. We lost Gerard." Jun said from far in front. Gerard sped up and waved hello when he was finally in sight.

"Are you sure we should've taken the purple door?" Gerard asked cautiously as he looked at the map. There were so many different hallways and ladders that it was an unsolvable labyrinth without a microscope. "What if there's a sequence to the doors? Like...Um...I don't know, the colors of the rainbow."

"So then pink would go next?" Sherry inferred. The guys all shook their heads.

"Maybe we'll figure it out when we go through _there_." Paru pointed further down the hall where mirrors started. They continued walking. Every single mirror they passed warped their bodies a different way. Sherry's favorite carnival mirror was the one that made her boobs big and her stature thin.

"Keep moving." Gerard deadpanned, nudging her away from the mirror.

"You're _touching_ me~" Sherry sang in awe. He moved his fingers off of her as if she was a disease and left her in the dust. She scurried after. Mirrors began cutting off in different ways and paths and rooms. It was getting confusing. She was surrounded by images of herself and she paused. "Aww crap...it's that confuse ray again..." She muttered, setting an ice cold palm onto her forehead. "GUYS! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I think we lost Sherry..." Jun muttered in a different part of the maze to Paru.

"...Who?"

"The red head."

"Oh. Can we keep it that way?" Paru asked.

"Well, no. We lost Gerard too." Jun pointed out.

Gerard had already stopped looking at himself in the mirror and found a blue door. He decided to stay there until everyone else caught up.

Soon enough Jun and Paru had gotten separated. _The mirrors are moving, _Jun had noticed too late. He was boxed into warped versions of himself and he kept going for the black spots, the exits. He cut through more mirrors and came to a two-way intersection. He took a left, but ended up in another box, this time with mirrors with blue tints. One of the mirrors squished in his face and looked familiar to him.

_No, _he thought as he took in the image, blue skinned and trumpet-eared. _I'll never be like one of them. I'm not an alien like Kai and Irene!_

He turned back around and headed back to the intersection, ran across the mirrors and found himself in another hallway. He spotted Sherry's red hair in the mirrors and turned, trying to look at the actual room instead of the mirror. It was hard to distinguish a mirror from the real world.

"Sherry! Where are you?" He called. He stepped forward, only to smack his face into the wall.

"HA-HA! You walked into a mirror." laughed Sherry from behind him.

"It's not like you haven't before..." He muttered sheepishly.

"Come on! Let's go find the others!" She said, wondering which way to step forward. _SLAM! _The walls rearranged again, and they were staring at their reflections again.

"Try the right." Jun said, leading the way. She wasn't hesitant to follow. She knew who to trust. Although sometimes, she trusts the wrong person.

Paru calmly made it at the end of the maze. The door in front of him was orange. He leant against it and waited for some kind of direction, because he knew that going through a pokémon gym was something he couldn't do alone.

Jun and Sherry finally came upon a door, and it was white.

"We found a door!" Sherry yelled loudly up to the ceiling in hopes for someone to hear her this time.

"I did too." Gerard's voice came from the right, beyond the mirror.

"I found an orange one!" Paru said from the left. The mirrors encasing Jun and Sherry turned to the side and backed into the wall so that there were no walls separating them. Relief became visible on Gerard's face, because he thought he'd have to fare through the maze again to find the door they were going to agree go through.

"So where to, leader?" Jun asked, turning to face Gerard. Gerard looked at the map, but the layout of the building helped in no way to where these 3 doors led.

"Simple!" Sherry said. "All we have to do is open all the doors and pick the best one!"

"...Can we do that?" Jun wondered.

"That's cheating." Paru pointed out.

"It's smart!" Sherry said, pouting. "If you're so scared, I'll open the doors instead!" Before anyone could stop her, she pulled the blue door open. She was met with a small frilly-pink decorated bathroom. She scurried over to Paru and opened the orange door.

"SWAAAAAMPERTT!" A gigantic 4-legged frog glared at her on the other end.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed and shut the door, pressing her back against it. "NOT that one."

"That just weeds out this one." Gerard said, opening the white door. A rollercoaster car pulled up to the side and waited for them to sit.

"Wait! Before we go, can I use that bathroom?" Sherry pointed to the blue door, still open. He sighed and waved his hand for her to go. She hurried into the bathroom and shut the door. The rollercoaster car sped off.

"...Dammit." Gerard slammed the door shut. "I guess we're facing that Swampert then."

_FLUSH._

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sherry's scream went lost somewhere.

"...Is it big?" Jun asked into the door. He looked to the guys. "Should I...open it?"

"I'll do it. I've seen the female anatomy several times on different occasions." Paru said, sauntering up to the door. "They were...um...educational health videos."

"Did they take place in a hospital?" Gerard deadpanned.

"...a few." Paru smiled bashfully and wrenched open the door. The floor to the bathroom was gone—the only thing still there was the wallpaper and a flowerpot hanging from the ceiling. The floor led to a slide.

"I'm assuming she took the toilet with her." Gerard muttered, daring not to sniff the bathroom.

"She found the path! Let's go!" Jun said, jumping onto the slide first. His head disappeared down. Paru was hesitant to go, but he slid down nevertheless while hitting his head on the ceiling on the way down. Gerard closed the door behind him and glided down the plastic.

Behind them, the mirrors that were once a labyrinth all span to form a wall leading directly from the entrance to the doorways. Darryl came in with a video camera, laughed hysterically, and opened the white door that Gerard had previously slammed close. Another rollercoaster car came up and waited for its passenger.

* * *

><p>"Duck! Get the duck Amber! Darn it, why is it so hard for you to get the duck!" Nicolas wailed.<p>

"FISHING FOR PLASTIC DUCKS IS ONLY _SO _EASY." Amber said loudly, holding a fishing rod molested by her man hands.

James's team stumbled through the first through rooms uneasily. They had gone through a sewer ride, two pokémon rooms, an aroma room, and now, a room where you must fish for plastic ducks five feet below. There were only 3 rods, so Nicolas and Irene had to sit back and watch, cheer, spectate, and if they dared, boo. The hint from James's issued tablet said that the key was in one of the ducks. Well, how helpful that was. There were thousands of ducks floating below them in a circular motion, just like at the carnival.

Imogen reeled up another one, hoping the weak magnet wouldn't fail this time. Irene snatched the duck off the rod and squeezed it, the beak facing open palm.

"Dammit! This one doesn't have one either!" She shrieked in frustration. She tossed the duck into the growing pile of other deflated ducks that Imogen had caught.

"There has to be an easier way to find the key." James muttered while tossing his line into the pathway of the ducks again, hoping one would get magnetically attracted to his bait. The tablet in possession of Irene began vibrating. An icon of an envelope popped up.

"We've got mail!" Irene said, running to the middle vicinity of where everyone was standing. They crowded around her as she tapped open the message. Light flashed into their eyes from the developing holo-message, and Irene dropped the tablet in surprise. A miniature form of Darryl came on screen, alone.

"_Hello everyone! Congratulations on getting past the first door! Many of you have...well..been going in circles. Pay attention to the colors of the doors—they aren't all just random colors for fun. The color of the door determines how far you get to the end point, and many of you are nowhere near. It's been an hour and a crowd is beginning to fill the stadium! So hurry!" _

"I'd step on that tablet if it wouldn't help us get this far." Amber muttered, resuming fishing.

"James, can't you think of a way to get us out of here?" Imogen asked, fed up with reeling in empty bathtub ducks.

"I'm trying..." He muttered, scratching his face uneasily. The others were looking at him expectantly. He felt a lot of pressure on his shoulders. "I mean...gosh, there are a lot of ducks in here...including that freaky display duck up there..." Everyone looked to an actually Duckling, only it was dead with the eyes popped out and hung by thin wires from the ceiling.

"What's that thing in its mouth?" Nicolas asked, pointing at the beak of the Duckling.

Irene squinted. "It looks like a...a KEY! What the hell! It was in _there_ the whole time?"

"How do we get it down?" Amber asked, wishing she had an object other than the fishing rods to smack it down like a piñata.

"We have Nicolas's Diglett and Irene's Chansey. I think reaching it will be impossible." James said. Before Amber could retort with something snide, he said, "But...maybe if we calculate one of their attacks correctly—a long ranged one hopefully—we can get the taxidermized Duckling down."

"All I understood was Attack." Amber muttered after his rambling.

"Diglett! Help us please!" Nicolas launched a pokéball into the air. A stump-mole-like pokémon that, no matter where it went, it created a hole, appeared. "Mud bomb please!" He said, pointing at the Duckling.

"Wait! Be gentle!" Imogen said worriedly as Diglett whipped its head back. A big bullet of dirt shot from its snout and smacked into Ducklett, dirtying the blue feathers. Ducklett swung in the air until finally, the key fell from its mouth and clanged onto the floor by James's feet. He picked it up gently and held it to his face as if it was a trophy.

Meanwhile, everyone else was running to the 3 doors and arguing which one to go through. One was orange, one was purple, and the last was green. James caught up with them and stared at the key. It would open all three doors, but they could only go through one.

"GREEN!" Irene chose.

"Yellow!" Nicolas said instead.

"None of them are yellow." Amber retorted.

Imogen sighed. "Look guys; we've gone through a red door, a green door, a yellow one, and blue. The message said to pay attention to the colors. Which color haven't we chose yet but it is in the mix of the colors?"

"Depends...are we going basic colors or intermediate colors?" James wondered, bopping the key from his left hand to the right in boredom.

"Even if we followed that way, we already screwed up our choices. Green doesn't go after red." Amber shrugged.

"Yeah! Next would be purple!" Irene said.

"No, next would be orange." James corrected.

"Na uh!" She whined. "On the color wheel, if you go left from red the next color is PURPLE!"

"Let's try our luck with purple." Imogen sighed, wishing to get through this game already. James unlocked the door and opened it. On the other side was another room, except they walls were unidentifiable and there was a giant circular-TV sitting at the back. The five entered. The door closed behind them, and just as before, it locked. Nicolas panicked as usual and tried twisting the doorknob off its screws.

The room lit up as if lit by candles, which was a foreign source of light to the tech-obsessed 31st century teens. A couch rose from the middle of the room a safe distance away from the TV so not to strain their eyes and a dashboard with buttons sprung up in front of the couch.

"_Take a seat! Hehehehehe!_" Darryl's cackle boomed in from the ceiling. "_You've finally reached your last door! Will you beat your fellow friends and get to the stadium first?" _The walls on their left and right that were previously black and glassy showed the image of people in the stadium rooting them on, cheering their names and holding up signs from their tablets.

The five crowded onto the couch and looked forward where the circular TV turned to a screen of a pie chart-like object, with five colors—red, blue, yellow, green, and pink. The same colors were on the dash board on their laps.

"_The game is flash memory!" _Darryl said. "_READY? Hehehehe!"_

"You're frakkin' annoying!" Amber yelled at the ceiling.

"_Girlfriend, I LOVE your hair! Hehehehe!" _Came the response rather flamboyantly.

"Who's good at memory games?" Irene asked, sitting in the middle of the couch. She was ready to pass the dashboard to whoever. She didn't like being the possessor of the torch.

"I bet James is." Imogen smiled warmly. James's cheeks burned.

"Just because you think I'm smart doesn't mean I have good memory." He said. He'd had enough of leading. He wanted to sit back and watch for once.

"I'll do it!" Nicolas volunteered enthusiastically. He ignored the echoes of "NO!"s coming from the others and pulled the dashboard to his lap and tapped the 'START' button. The pie wheel colors lit up in a circle, stopped, and the sequence began. Red, green.

Nicolas tapped red, then green.

It continued to the next one. Red, green, pink, pink.

Nicolas tapped red, green, pink, pink.

"Figures he'd be good at baby games." Amber muttered, but she was hushed by the others so Nicolas could concentrate.

Red, green, pink, pink, blue to green to red.

He tapped red, green, pink, pink, blue...he paused. Everyone held in their breath. His finger hovered over red and green.

He tapped green, then red. Everyone looked up at the screen, and it beeped in approval and continued the sequence.

"YES! We're gonna win!" Irene cheered. Everyone shushed her again, but she just grinned and watched the master at work.

* * *

><p>There were three doors with paintings of keys on them—one yellow, one purple, one red. Unfortunately, the teens couldn't even think about the pathway beyond them because they had to search for the key somewhere in the room. They were all knee-deep in white sand that was covering the floor.<p>

"It's getting in my hair..." Lexi whined softly, combing her fingers through her thick blonde locks and having sand pour out of her ears.

"Boo-hoo." Ashka deadpanned uncaringly. Sceptile and Pachirisu were out as well to sift through the sand. Lucas thought of all of this digging as stupid and looked up to the ceiling. What he saw made him very angry.

"All the keys are _up there_!"

Serena craned her neck up and scoffed. "It couldn't have been _that _easy." Hundreds of silver keys were bunched up together at the ceiling like a chandelier. It was more like one giant spike ball of keys. Serena stepped closer to the purple door, which everyone had agreed from the beginning that that was the route they were choosing. The painting of the key looked so real she could just touch it...

It was...metal?

_Damn. That guy likes messing with our heads. _She thought as she pried the key from the door. Now it was just a hallowed out space where the key once was. Just as she got the key, a _clang! _came from the sound of all those keys on the ceiling falling right on top of the others. Since they were tiny, it was like it was raining staples.

Serena turned the key in the lock and pulled open the door. Sand seeped through the cool passageway. "I opened the door!" She called, pointing at the key in the hole.

"I don't know why we try." Lexi laughed, skipping over to the door. Ashka glared at her optimistic views while she herself saw this "puzzle" as stupid and irritating. They had been through slides, sewers, pokémon, waterfalls, and dart games. What happened to good 'ole tradition of just challenging the gym leader to a battle?

They entered the next room, the door automatically shutting and locking behind them. The room was only lit by an African torch standing in the middle of the room. Jazz music played from the ceiling, which created a romantic and awkward feeling.

"I can do it to this song~" Lucas winked suggestively at Lexi as he grooved around the room. She stuck her tongue at him and came closer to the torch. She tried to pull it from the ground but it was just _wedged _in there. Or cemented.

_Piece of crap. _Lexi thought. Everyone's eyes widened.

Her thoughts literally _floated _in front of her in the form of white flames. Every letter was distinguishable but not extinguishable.

"What are you guys staring at?" Lexi asked, looking lost.

_That's so cool..._Serena thought. Her subtitles floated above her head.

_Boobs..._was floating above Lucas's head. In fact, the thoughts were repeated and several of those lines were expanding above his head.

"...Get your head out of the gutter!" Lexi shouted at him.

_How the hell is this possible? _floated above Ashka's head.

_Sour sport jackass! _Floated above Lexi's. She knew what she really wanted to think was censored, though.

"Is that what you think of me!" Ashka shrieked, pointing to Lexi's thoughts.

"No!" Lexi shook her head, waving her hands above her head to get rid of her last thought.

"_Hehehehe! Enjoying the subtitles kiddies?" _Darryl's voice echoed around the room, disrupting the peaceful floating of the words. "_Be careful what you say...and think. There are no secrets here. You're in the last room, and if you can win against your mind, the door will appear itself..."_

_Jump off a building. _Serena thought as she stared at the ceiling.

"This allows me to get a lot off my chest." Lexi said, biting her lip as she stepped into the darkness.

"Better censor your thoughts Lexi! You don't want to know what _I'm _thinking." Ashka sneered after her.

_Catfight. _Lucas thought with a smirk.

_We're not fighting! I refuse to fight! _Came the thoughts from where Lexi was assumed to be. _I hate how Ashka hates me! All I wanted was to be her friend and all I get is HELL! Her hatred eats through me and causes my bad side, the side I've always tried to bury away, come out! I hate being mean!_

_It's not enough that everyone gives me crap for looking like a minx, but guys come on me because they think I am! It's people like Lucas that make me want to...cry! _Her enormous paragraph of subtitles span around the room tornado-fashion, disappearing as they hit the ceiling—but not fast enough that Ashka couldn't read it.

_I just...Gerard..._Ashka thought, pulling herself into the darkness. She didn't want anyone to see her cry.

_Gerard Gerard Gerard...I know that's all you think about..._Lexi thought. _He's handsome...and smart...and cool...he's the whole package, and you keep him to yourself. Sometimes I wish he liked me as much as you..._

Ashka shook her head. _Are you kidding me? Of course he likes you. You're...freakin'...beautiful. Anyone can see that. He'd go out with you if I gave him the push. You know I'm jealous._

"Ashka, you should see how he looks at you." Lexi muttered from across the room. Ashka's subtitles became smudged out. She was trying to cover her shaking by pacing around the room.

"Lucas looks at you the same." Serena muttered. She tried to think empty thoughts. Her deepest secret could not be revealed a second time.

_No he doesn't. He looks at me the same way he does with anything that wears a skirt. _Lexi thought, a wild blush springing to her cheeks. Her subtitles were flaring red at the bottom.

_I don't know. _Lucas's thoughts barge into Lexi's face.

"What do you mean, _you don't know_? You either know or you don't!" She shrieked.

_I've had my heart broken once...I've sworn off love forever..._He tried his best to obscure the flames before it had reached her, but she saw it clearly.

_You're only 16. Your life won't end with one break up. _Lexi thought. _You're a cool guy, Lucas. Any girl would be lucky to have you._

_None but you...You're the one I missed the most when you left. _He thought, looking down sadly.

"You guys are so sappy. Just get together already!" Ashka said, stifling her laugh.

_Shut up! _Lexi and Lucas thought in unison, both smiling behind the shadows. Their words intertwined as they reached the ceiling and evaporated together.

Lexi sighed. "I'd..." she bit her lip. She knew she couldn't say the rest. She didn't want to admit the rest. Unfortunately, her thoughts were broadcasted anyway. _I'd love you if you let me..._

"I imagine Darryl just got his fill on teen romance for this episode." Serena muttered.

_...Really_? Lucas thought.

Lexi smiled and tried to chuckle. "...Yeah." She said. Her face was completely red. No way was she going out there now.

_What's the magic word to get out of this room? _Ashka thought. _What's the...key?_

Her three-letter word transformed into yellow, shimmering flames that flew towards the torch instead of the ceiling. As soon as the words hit the flames of the torch, they expanded larger than humanely possible. Everyone was lit up—including Lexi and Lucas's completely red faces. A white staircase was spiraling from the east part of the room.

Ashka and Serena hurried up the staircase. Lexi and Lucas arrived at it at the same time, but when their faces met, they couldn't say any words. There was nothing more to be said. She beamed at him and ascended the staircase. He smiled after her.

This time, he ignored the opportunity to stare at her butt and climbed the staircase.

* * *

><p>"<em>This is your LAST door!" <em>Darryl's voice boomed throughout the area intimidatingly.

"Yay!" Jun rooted.

"_...You are so..."_

"A lot of people say that to me." He nodded. "WHAA DO THEY MEAN?" Gerard shushed him to quiet down so they could get the instructions for their last room. It didn't look like a find-a-key game like the other numerous rooms.

Three life-sized thimble-like objects rose from the ground, shadowing the four teens like pillars. The front door opened, revealing dive seats embedded into the wall with a seatbelt coming in from the sides.

"_Three of you enter, one of you stay out!" _barked Darryl. The others were confused. Paru decided to stay back as Sherry, Jun, and Gerard took seats in the thimbles and buckled in tight.

"What does this do?" Sherry asked loudly. The doors closed and Paru couldn't hear her nagging voice anymore. It was relief to his ears. Two giant, ghostly gloved hands emerged from the ceiling and hovered over the thimbles that were now suspended off the floor.

"_Hehehehe pay attention closely sideburns boy!" _Darryl cackled. "_Keep an eye on the one Sherry's in!"_

"Why her?" Paru muttered. He got no response as the hands above began swapping the thimbles around the room, slowly and rapidly, and so close that it almost hit him. He didn't even remember which one Sherry was in. After ten more seconds of spinning around the room, the thimbles stopped and the hands waited for him to pick one. He looked at the three confusedly and wished he had more eye coordination. He picked the closest one. "Umm...that one?" He pointed. The door opened, and there the red head sat with bewildered hair and crazy eyes.

"That...was...MADNESS!" She shrieked, undoing her seatbelt and stumbling out of the thimble with two left feet. She ended up tripping over her heels and Paru listened to his conscious and helped her up all the while checking her ankle for swelling like the doctor in him was compelled to do. The capsule Sherry exited floated off to the corner and shut down.

"_Hehehehe! You got lucky that time! See if you can find Jun after THIS! By the way he's right there." _The gloves pointed down at the thimble behind the two.

"Alright! We can win!" Sherry said.

"...Sure." Paru said, faking a yawn. She glared at him.

The thimbles took off again, although they started off slow and Paru had his eyes glued to the one Jun was probably barfing in. He focused, just as the thimbles began weaving around each other in fast motions. Sherry had only started focusing for two seconds before giving up. The thimbles launched up into the air and spun, and Paru had to stare directly overhead to lock his eyes on it. They kept going and going, and panic sprung through him. He was a second late. Did they change again without him realizing?

The thimbles finally landed on the ground smoothly, and the hands waited for Paru to choose.

"This one!" Sherry said, pointing to the one of the left. Paru had been watching carefully and was pretty sure that one wasn't it. He chose the other one on the right. The door opened to...

"No!" Gerard said, smacking his forehead with his hand. The other thimble opened and spit Jun out.

"_Hehehe! YOU LOSE!" _Darryl's cackle was deafened out by the loud cries of Zubats, Spinaraks, Skorupis, Durants, and Koffings coming in through holes in the ceilings. The exit looked like heaven's gates as they began opening excruciatingly slow, bright light seeping in through the cracks. The pokémon were coming and nipping at them.

"Eew! Get away from me!" Sherry shrieked, swatting at the Zubats who were scratching her arms.

"We've got to get out of here." Gerard said, plowing through the pokémon to the doors. They wouldn't open fast enough, even with him pulling. They were too heavy.

"We have to fight, no matter how much we don't want to!" Jun said, pulling out a pokéball. Sherry did the same. Two flashes of light later, a Lampent and Solrock were standing amidst the chaos of the creepy pokémon.

"Paru, help me with the door!" Gerard called, firmly planting his feet into the ground and trying at the door again. They were slower than 3G internet. Paru forced his way past the pokémon, pushing aside flapping wings and creepy crawlers around his feet.

"Confuse Ray!" Jun said. Lampent began flashing like a camera.

"Not again!" Sherry whined, covering her eyes with her fingers. She pointed in a random direction. "Solrock use Psywave!" Solrock span like a top, and everything was pushed back against their will. The tinier pokémon like Durant and Zubat were knocked off their feet and slammed into the wall.

With some of the pokémon out the way, Gerard and Paru pulled even harder on the cold freezer doors. They began to budge, but it felt like thick springs were resisting any further pushing. The two felt as if they let go any inch, the doors would spring shut.

"Lampent use Inferno!" Jun said, pointing at the mass of pokémon readying to throw themselves again. Lampent took a deep breath, and then _FWOOSH!, _blue flames spew from both its handles and consumed the pokémon, and the many that were flying dropped to the ground unconscious.

Finally, what felt like a revelation finally pulled the doors wide open. Gerard and Paru sighed of relief and stepped into the fresh air, followed by Jun and Sherry and their pokémon. They were overlooking a vast green battlefield from one of the stages in the bleachers in their very own personal box.

Gerard looked on the big screen and saw his own face. The crowd was cheering wildly that they finally got out. Every seat seemed to be filled with strangers, and many had electronic banners with their names on it.

"Aww, I've never felt so loved." Jun smiled.

"I'M ON TV!" Paru gasped and waved into the camera that was on the ceiling, pointed at Gerard.

"There you guys are!" Daniel came around from one of the windowed hallways and beckoned for them to follow. "Let's get you guys ready to battle!"

"Does that mean that we got out first?" asked Jun hopefully, holding his hands to his chest.

Daniel looked up to avoid their eyes. "Well..." They entered an annex of the box area, somewhere below the nosebleed section, with three rows of plush white theater seats and a thin-screen hanging from the ceiling, broadcasting James's group on the memory flash game. Others were in here as well—Rodolfo, Mr. Valacio, the human judge—as well as Ashka, Lexi, Lucas, and Serena.

"Aww man, we're second!" Sherry stomped on the floor in frustration and took a seat in the back rows behind Serena and Ashka.

Gerard took the seat that Ashka had reserved for him. "This isn't fair, you know." He teased. "You have all the smart people."

"Ya slumber ya fall down under." She shrugged back.

"Hi Gerard!" Lexi waved hello from the front row beside Lucas. "I saw you on your last game. WOW you're strong!" She ignored the _"watch it" _glare from Ashka.

"Well...it opened by itself honestly..." Gerard muttered, feeling awkward to be talking with her. He's hardly ever spoken to her. There was that whole thing when she went home to tend to her children, or at least, that's the rumor that he heard from Paru. He was thinking he probably shouldn't believe someone who analyzes TV-story plots to the max. The others took seats around the room, with Jun happily taking the last seat beside Lucas and discussing about how crazy the puzzle was.

"So when do we battle?" Ashka asked.

Gerard shrugged. "I dunno. I just got here."

"What are those two things on the field?" Jun inquired as he hopped out of his seat to point at the two massive objects taking up most of the field. The objects were tall enough that the top was eye level to their current height in the indoor box seats. They were tall platform-like objects that resembled much like the mechanism of a spinning-ride, only without the protruding arms with cars. The stage below had dividers in it and arrows, as if it was built to rotate.

"I hope they move that before the battle." Lexi muttered, believing it to be one of the stages that the performing acts use.

"Maybe it's _for_ the battle." Ashka pondered.

"How would you battle on _that_?" Spat Lucas, turning to face her with an eyebrow-lifted expression.

"Watch it blue boy." She shot back. "From what I've learned from this Darryl guy...he's one puzzling guy."

"He's gorging on chips over there." Lexi deadpanned, jerking her thumb at Darryl who had wandered in to talk to the rangers.

"They are _really _bad at that game." He said to Daniel. "Chip?"

"...No thanks." Daniel beamed. "Can't you just...let them through? You know, to speed things along?"

Darryl gasped rather dramatically. "That's _cheating_! No no no no! There will be no _cheating _on my grounds!...Only meddling!"

"Oh dear God! Look at what my violent child has done to the dashboard!" Rodolfo squealed in horror as he pointed to the thin screen. "I disclaim her. Daniel, she's all yours." Amber was apparently getting very frustrated with that fact that both Nicolas and James had gotten beaten by the sequence and was now pounding her fists into the glass. Darryl had an eye for things, and even with the inconvenient angle of the hidden cameras, he could see cracks in the dashboard.

"No! My precious things!" He pulled a remote of million sensors out of his pocket and began dialing in a complex numerical sequence no one knows how he could possibly remember. With a dramatic poke on the screen, the dashboard on the TV descended back under the floorboards and the circular TV where the pie colors were flashing rolled to the side to reveal a staircase.

The Irene on screen gasped. "_AMBER! You won the game!_"

"_Damn right I did!_" smirked the Amber on screen, who led the way up the stairs. The crowd behind the TV they were watching cheered nevertheless that the last group finally escaped out of the maze.

"We get to battle first, right?" Lexi asked towards the back where Daniel and Darryl were.

"Yeah! We finished first!" Lucas agreed. He knew he could add an innuendo comment to that but he decided against it just to get an answer.

"WAIT! I must think extensively about how pretty my remote is." Darryl scurried off down the hallway and slammed the door shut behind him.

Daniel stared after him apologetically. He looked to the teens who were having disappointed faces. "Everyone will get a chance to battle—that's all I'm going to say. I already know how..." He grinned. "I'm sure it's something none of you are used to."

Megan came in moments later from the opposite door that Darryl fled out of leading James and his teammates. They took their seats, all though they looked visibly pissed that they came in last. Darryl returned moments later with a harness-type thing in one hand and a man with a camera behind him.

"Challengers, welcome to the Fortree Gym! Hehehehe! I'm Darryl!"

"Why is he saying this? He's already introduce himself." Ashka muttered to Gerard.

He shrugged and muttered back, "It's probably for the crowd."

Darryl clapped his hands together. "You all will be challenging me in groups of 4! Want to know how?" He smirked albeit evilly. "Two words: Rotation battle. Hehehehehe!"

* * *

><p><strong>Greetings! Happy Friday! :D<strong>

**Before I start saying things I'd like to thank the faithful reviewers **_BNVshark_**, **_KingOfStories01_**, **_Zokolov_**, **_AskKetchumDarkSide_**, and **_Shadow of Eckhart_ **for reviewing last chapter! :D We've reached 120! ACCOMPLISHMENT! -flickers on strobe lights and victory dances-**

**Next chapter will be the battle portion, and due to my battles usually being fast the chapter may or may not be short in length. I dunno. I was going to put it in this chapter, but I decided that there's been enough hectic things happening at once. Since my sleeping schedule is a-wall due to winter sports I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out. Since next week is Thanksgiving with the 5-day weekend, I'm sure Chapter 20/21 whatever number it is will come on time! :D**

**Thanks for reading! ^_^ You guys are awesome!**


	21. Rotate

**Chapter Twenty - Rotate  
><strong>_Same day, 2pm-ish, in that exclusive-seats box reserved for important people, Fortree City Gym Stadium._

"_Rotation battle_?"

Almost seven people said it at the same time, but because they didn't, it sounded like a jumbled up mess of "Roshunbatel?" Darryl tapped his fingers together delightfully with a Cheshire grin. He liked introducing old ideas to the new generation.

"Hehehehe! Yes! Rotation!" He cackled. He gestured out to the battle field where the two washing-machine-turbine-looking things towered. "Those are the rotation stages! Your pokémon will be wearing this." He gestured to his other hand where the wiry vest-brace was held. There were spherical bulbs on it that reeled in the wires to fit any size pokémon. Darryl demonstrated by strapping the vest over his fancy suit. "Put your pokémon's arms through like _this_, fasten it together like _that_, adjust it like _so_, and you're ready to go. Any questions?"

Serena held up her hand sheepishly. "What if our pokémon don't have arms?"

"Or they have wings?" James added.

"We have collars." Darryl replied, taking the vest off. "We seldom use those though because they tend to choke the wearer."

Nicolas gasped and gripped at his neck as if he was wearing the collar right then.

"What are the vests for?" Ashka asked, since it wasn't stated yet. It didn't look like a fashion statement at all, unless wires were in. According to Lexi's apparel, it probably was.

"The stage rotates on its own, so once it begins moving the pokémon, wherever they are, are pulled back to their spot." Darryl answered. "We'll be battling shortly; but since none of you have had a bathroom break or snacks I'll give you half an hour in the preparation rooms until then. The rangers will show you where to go."

Daniel nodded as the others turned around to face he, Megan, and Rodolfo. "Alright, Group 1 with me." Daniel said, leading to a stairwell behind them.

"Group 2 this way." Megan said, leading to the hallway Darryl had come in through.

Rodolfo stared at the teens that were leaving in strands like molecular viruses. He inspected the remaining five he was left with and shouted, "I want a switch! I refuse to herd around the losers!" Offended, Nicolas went and kicked him in the shin. While Rodolfo was howling in pain and jumping while holding his throbbing leg, Irene and Imogen laughed and applauded him.

"Oh, so when _I_ kick people in the shins its wrong?" muttered Amber, following her group to their preparation room.

* * *

><p><strong>Paru <strong>_So I'm gonna do all of you guys a liquid and review all of Darryl's recent battle footages to see what pokémon he mostly uses  
><em>21 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **Um...liquid?

**Paru **Yeah. It's not a solid.

**Lucas Taylor **...OH, your using 21st century terms. Ancient you are.

**Paru **Yoda from 21st century you are not.

**Sherry Brogan **So am I going dyslexic or are you guys talking backwards...? ;(  
>2 people dislike this<p>

**Ashka Storme **Stop distracting him. I need to know what pokémon to prepare for.

**Paru **I feel loved ;D

**Lucas Taylor **Or used. Either or

**Lexi Redstone **Thank you Paru :3 ily

**Lucas Taylor **No! I thought you luved me! =.=  
>Paru dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>The preparation room was just a tiny room fitted under the bleachers with couches, bean bags, mirrors, sinks, stalls, and pokémon food dispensers. The vending machine, if necessary, could be found outside and down the hall next to the trash chute. Ashka was pacing the room back and forth, thinking of a battle strategy to beat Darryl. He was such a confusing character, and there were so many aspects of him that she could pinpoint and try to overcome, but he wasn't a 2-dimensional box. He was a person with creepy hand gestures and glued on mustache. He was more difficult to figure out than the puzzles he had them solve.<p>

Lexi was combing her hair in the mirror and applying concealer while Serena was just holding the "tool box" and taking out whatever item was called. Lucas was sunk deep in a bean bag and utilizing his 'Gear's keyboard, so we knew what he was doing in general. Ashka continued to pace around the perimeter of the room.

"You sure you don't want to do your hair before we go up there? I've got a curling iron. And hairspray. Oh, and some color spray. I bet you'd look great with pink streaks!" Lexi said from the mirror.

Ashka only stopped pacing to glare at her. "I can worry about my appearance later."

"You'll be on TV! No, the worrying starts now." Lexi said. "Comb." She held out her hand, and Serena transferred it to her hand as if it was a newly polished sword about to go into battle. Lexi pulled out Ashka's hair from its ponytail and began combing. Ashka scoffed in disgust and began pacing again, but Lexi chased after her with the comb.

"Stop trying to fix my hair! It's fine!" Ashka shrieked.

"No! It looks like it was raped by a scrunchie! Get over here!" Lexi yelled back.

"I never thought playing salon could be so entertaining." Lucas commented, not even bothering to look up from his 'Gear. He stuck his foot out as Ashka got near, and she ended up tripping over his leg and landing on a bean bag. Lexi grinned in victory and began combing the mane. Ashka sighed and let her do her worse.

She coughed after a cloud of hairspray was used against her. "Okay _okay_, my hair is done, can we talk strategy now? We're about to have a rotation battle! Have you ever fought in one before?"

"No, I'm curling it." Lexi decided, and accepted the advanced-looking curler from Serena. "And no, I've never battled rotation-style before. I've seen it on TV though, but the stage was different. There wasn't a huge beam in the middle that we're going to have to stand on."

"If you get scared of heights you can hold my hand." Lucas flashed a smirk at Lexi, but she was too busy with Ashka's hair to respond.

"Rotation battles are like regular battles." Serena said. "Except we get to see all the pokémon on the field...and we get to swap whenever."

"I thought we couldn't swap." Lexi muttered. "Have you _seen _where we sit? There's no magical button to rotate the stage. Darryl said it was random."

"I say we stay on our toes." Ashka advised. "Darryl's pokémon are purely random. He doesn't focus on one type. We're going to need to think our choices through."

"Paru was going to study the past battles." Serena added in case anyone forgot.

"He hasn't listed any pokémon on Facebook yet." Lucas reported. The females sighed. "Oh, did you guys know that there's a pokémon tournament going on in Lilycove on Sunday?"

Ashka frowned at him. "Can't you focus on the battle at hand instead of a future one?"

He scoffed. "We're going to do fine. Darryl, in a nutshell, is crazy. He poses no threat."

"Just because he's crazy doesn't mean he's not strong." Serena said.

"Who asked you?" He retorted.

"Don't be mean to Serena!" Lexi snapped as Serena's face crinkled. "Okay, done! You may look at yourself in the mirror now, Ashka." She said, shutting off the curling iron. Ashka sighed and stood up and turned to face the mirror.

_...Holy hell. What did she do to my hair? _Ashka stared at the mirror in shock. Instead of her normally straight, at times straggly hair, perfect fat black curls met past her shoulders and her bangs were curled inwards. Lexi grinned in satisfaction.

"Good! Now can I trust you to keep your hair like that forever?"

Ashka still couldn't get past the shock she was seeing in the mirror. Now she felt like she should wear something fancier to go with her new hair. "Only until after the cameras are done rolling. After that this thing is going back in its ponytail."

"Good enough for me!" Lexi clapped her hands together happily. Serena checked the time and grimaced.

"Time to go." She told the others. Everyone filtered out to the hallway and back to the room that they had met Darryl in earlier, and Ashka shuffled nervously from behind. She hoped no one back at home was watching.

* * *

><p><strong>Paru <strong>_After a thorough analysis I have come up with ten possible choices: Zoroark, Stoutland, Treeko, Magneton, Boldore, Lucario, Honchcrow, Quilava, Rotom, and Mantine.  
><em>7 people thank this

**Ashka Storme **wtf? This doesn't help

**Jun Kirman **He has a lot of different pokémon...

**Imogen Yale **I feel like he pulls out a pokéball from his hat and just goes from there. He doesn't even look  
>2 people agree<p>

**Lexi Redstone **So he has dark, normal, grass, steel/electric, rock, fighting, flying, fire, ghost, and water.

**Lucas Taylor **There were five types you didn't mention

**Ashka Storme **I guess we have to be prepared for anything.

**Gerard Eckhart **Don't be fooled by his pokémon, guys. Focus on his battle strategy.

**Paru **I didn't hav enough time to watch all that -.-  
>3 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel led the first group through the hallway leading to the battlefield and gave them earpieces. "It's so you can communicate to each other in case the crowd gets too rowdy." He had explained. The others that were going to battle later got VIP seats in the front rows of the stadium with a whole bunch of celebrities who had gathered to watch the event live.<p>

The door to the stadium opened garage-style.

"Good luck out there." Daniel said to the troopers.

"Thanks!" Lexi chirped, skipping outside with Lucas and into the blazing heat.

"Luck won't help us." Ashka muttered, following behind.

"You never know." Serena said as she shrugged, the last to exit the hall. The machines towered greatly over the four and cast shadows that hardly provided cool shade. Tenants ushered them over to a staircase on wheels to aid them onto the stage. The crowd screamed and rooted for them from all 360 degrees. The vast amount of seats were filled with thousands of multicultural crayons.

The four clambered onto the stage. It was sturdy and the floor was set with a pebbly surface and painted on arrows. Lucas practically broke his neck trying to look up at the top of the beam where they had to sit.

"So...how do we get up there?" He broadcasted his thoughts. Lexi shrugged.

4 over-the-head harnessed chairs on each edge of turbine beam drifted down from the top. A tenant climbed up and gestured for them to take a seat. Lucas and Lexi eagerly took a seat and pulled the harness over their heads, while Serena and Ashka shared a look of doubt.

"Doesn't look safe." Serena said.

"Yeah. Looks like an ancient "frog hopper" seat." Ashka said with a wary nod.

"Look, no one's going to fall off!" Lexi shrieked, impatient that they were holding the battle up. "Watch!" She took the joystick on the right arm of the chair and pushed it forward. Her seat rose like lava from a volcano. Ashka caught the fright on Lexi's face from the surprising speed of the chair. Once at the top, the chair came to an abrupt stop and shook Lexi in the seat.

"Wait, we haven't checked the harness!" One of the workers said, running for the override button.

"_See, I'm fine!"_ The others heard Lexi say from the blue tooth. She was up too high to be heard from the ground.

"Lexi, get down from there! They haven't tightened your harness!" Lucas said, his chair rising slowly.

"_Oh calm—AHH!" _

Everyone looked up to Lexi whose harness lifted up above her head without warning. She tipped downwards, and the crowd screamed as the only thing she could hold was the arm rest. She was dangling with all her strength, and Lexi's heart beat rapidly with adrenaline. The drop was too much to imagine. She stretched her hand for the joy stick. Her profusely sweaty hands made it worse—

"I can't watch!" Serena cried, covering her eyes with her hands.

"She's going to get herself killed! She's lucky Lucas is on the way!" Ashka said, shaking her head in dismay. Lexi's predicament was plastered on the scoreboard in HD.

"Lexi, reach for my hand!" Lucas said, now a few inches below her across the wide beam.

She stared at him angrily. "The chair won't support both of our weight!"

Lucas could only gasp in horror when Lexi finally got grip of the joystick and pushed it back, her chair declined fast. She held on as tight as she could but she was slipping, her fingers inching away from the arm rest as she held on—

She lost grip.

And hit the ground a foot below. Ashka and Serena stared at her with greatly concerned eyes—or at least Serena did. Ashka was looking up to find Lucas directing his chair downwards.

"_WELCOME ALL! HEHEHEHE!_" It was the wrong time and place, but Darryl emerged anyway in a flurry of white smoke and disco lights from an elevator shaft in his part of the turbine stage on the other half of the field. His side was a stage with rails, not a chair. It was probably easier for him to dance around that way. "_HELLO CHALLENGERS! I—um, hey, why are you still on the ground? MEET ME UP HERE!"_

"I...ummm..." Lexi staggered onto her feet, her legs still wobbly from the incident before. She didn't have the stomach to sit on that chair again. She became increasingly worried at being at that height, now.

Ashka glanced over at her and her cold front melted. Lexi looked horrified and mentally scarred and her expression was hilarious, but she knew it wasn't the time to laugh, no matter how much she wanted to. She asked, "Are you okay?"

Lexi was caught by surprise. Ashka never showed any signs of caring. "...Yeah, I think so...I rush into things a lot..." She looked down in shame. Tenants came over and ushered them to seats and properly strapped them in. After thorough seatbelt and harness checks, they were given the A-okay to rise. The entire stadium was filled with screams and cheers. They had came out of Darryl's labyrinth as warriors—clumsy, angsty, drama filled warriors.

"There you are!" Darryl said once the four finally reached the top. Due to them being on the edges, two of them couldn't directly face him and faced the crowd instead. Although, he was pretty far away, so he was a blur in any angle, no matter how bright the marquee lights on his suit lit up.

The officiator stepped on a platform sliced off from the rotating stages. "This a 4-on-4 rotation battle between the challengers, Lexi Redstone, Ashka Storme, Lucas Taylor, and Serena Valliya, against Fortree city gym leader Darryl!" He paused to allow the automatic applause die down. "There will be no substitutions, only rotating! Also, trainers may move their chairs at any height to see better, but cannot physically touch their pokémon or pick them up! That is automatically forfeit. Begin!"

"Hehehe! Time for my pretties first!" Darryl grinned. In one hand he held four pokéballs and he tossed them one by one onto different sections of the stage. _Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! _It was a light show that was only intensified by the lights of the stadium. A furry white sloth with long white arms, a green-and-cream ferret with flames sizzling in its fur, a giant purple blob with handlebar mustache and black diamond coat, and a weird spider-of-rock thingy appeared. A Vigoroth, Quilava, Swalot, and Boldore.

_How fitting. It's all random. _Ashka thought as she shuffled her pockets for a pokéball. She was the last to call out her pokémon.

Lucas was at the front. "Triumph Taillow, go!" a small, blue and red bird flapped down to the bottom of the stage.

"Lotad, go!" Serena shrieked in her gentle voice, and with a toss, released a lilypad-hatted bug onto the stage below her.

"Petilil! Let's dance!" Lexi's pokémon of choice was a child-like flower pokémon that moved gracefully about its section of the stage.

_...Okay seriously guys, TINY POKÉMON? _Ashka sighed in defeat. She shook her head and muttered to herself that she wouldn't accept defeat yet, not with everyone's hopes pinned to each other. She hadn't known that the others had her from the blue tooth. Their smiles of gratitude would've calmed her nerves if she had looked. "Dragonair battle stage!" A blue, dragon snake with orb and feathered ornaments appeared below.

From the stands, Daniel and Megan found it hard to sit down like everyone else down the aisle and analyzed the pokémon on stage.

"It's hard to tell who has the upper hand." Megan said, using the Scope App on her styler to magnify the pokémon, as the distance where they were sitting wasn't close enough to see them.

"Let me tell you in full." Daniel said, leaning towards her. "Taillow will get his ass kicked by Boldore, who doesn't stand a chance against Lotad or Petilil, who could get dominated by Quilava, who may or may not last three seconds against Lotad. I also believe Darryl will pull out a trick move and one of those pokémon is a Zoroark in disguise."

"Then there would be two of one pokémon." Megan pointed out. His head fell.

After the pokémon were given their vests and collars, the stage went in full swing, rotating so fast and abruptly that the small pokémon like Petilil fell and had to hold onto the floor to not get thrown off. Lexi shut her eyes and Lucas made a face that looked like he had to barf. Where Darryl stood was stationary, but the stage below him span too. Finally, after a few seconds, the stage slowed with Lotad and Swalot's edges meeting.

"Aww crap, is it my turn?" Serena wondered aloud.

"Swalot use Sludge!" Darryl commanded, quick as a snap. Before anyone could blink, Swalot made a swishing motion, opened it maw wide and _spewed _black, gooey gunk at Lotad, making it roll backwards like a balloon that was hit by pancake batter. Lotad rolled off its back and tried to shake off the black gunk covering it and collecting in its lilypad, but it was too sticky and heavy.

"Bubblebeam!" Serena said. The machine made a _crack! _sound, and the stage began moving just as Lotad was spewing bubbles, so the blue shimmery bubbles just popped at Swalot's feet! "Wait...I wasn't finished!" Serena yelled.

"Hehehehe! It's a team effort!" Darryl cackled. The stage stopped at Lucas's Taillow.

"My turn!" Lucas said. He left a silence between he and Darryl. He didn't have a plan—offense or defense? Swalot had a high stamina and simple attacks from Taillow didn't look effective. "Taillow, Aerial Ace!" He finally said. Taillow flittered into the air, slightly weighed down by the clear collar around its tiny neck.

"Swalot brace yourself and use Body Slam!" Darryl said, his smirk highlighted on the big screen. Lucas didn't know what he was so smiley for. Taillow arced in the air, bright streaks of lights following its tail as it spiraled directly for Swalot's head. Swalot _squished _itself into a blob form, making it look like a bean bag. Taillow smacked into it beak-first, like a bowl of clay, and Swalot straightened back up, slamming Taillow into the ground. Taillow's wing twitched.

"Taillow!" Lucas gasped and lowered his chair to see better.

"Use Sludge!" Darryl said.

"Quick Taillow, move!" Lucas said. Taillow pulled itself off the ground just as Swalot was opening its mouth—

The stages began to move again, and Taillow was pulled back to the stage against its will. Both stages twisted, including Darryl's, pitting Lotad against Boldore.

"Me again?" Serena muttered, tightening her grip on the arm rest.

"You have the advantage! You can do it Serena!" Lexi cheered from the blue tooth. Lotad was still covered in black unidentifiable gunk and was slower than usual.

"Boldore use Rock Blast!" Darryl commanded. Boldore adjusted its standing position, and like a gun, was pushed back from every shot of sharp mini-boulders from its mouth.

"Dodge and use Bubblebeam!" Serena said. Lotad twisted to the side, evading a few of the rocks, and shot a barrage of blue and cyan bubbles from its mouth. Boldore winced as they penetrated its rocky exterior like steel bullets. "Rain Dance!" Lotad paused in its step. A blue sphere of light materialized in front of it, sailed up into the air, and burst into particles of light. It began to rain.

"Ew! You're getting my suit wet!" Darryl wailed, flicking water off his suit with his thick hand. "Boldore use Headbutt!" For such a slow pokémon, Boldore was very intimidating when it "attempted" to run.

"Absorb!" Serena said, inwardly worrying that Boldore would hit before Lotad could do it. Well, it was like a turtle running, so she had no fear. Lotad made a pulling-back motion with its head, and green orbs started sucking out of Boldore's skin. Boldore paused mid-move to pull out of Lotad's grip. The two kept pulling, stretching out Lotad's grip until it was as thin as a fishing line.

_SNAP! _The two both rolled backwards, the stages beginning to rotate again.

"Boldore is unable to battle!" The judge said when Boldore wouldn't get up seconds later. The crowd erupted into applause and Darryl huffed, returning his pokémon in a narrow red light.

"Good job Serena!" Lexi said.

"Thanks for taking the lug down." Ashka muttered.

"Thanks guys." Serena said, letting out sigh of relief.

"Air high five!" Lucas said, his chair across from hers on the beam. They air high-fived and Serena looked away with a twisted, _what the hell? _smile. The stages finished spinning, with Petilil against Quilava.

"Aww damn..." Lexi muttered. The battle had already begun and she moved before Darryl could. "Petilil, Quiver Dance!" Within the light rain, Petilil span on feet as light as feathers, grand jete-ing and spinning and dancing almost ballerina-like.

"Quilava use Flame Charge!" Darryl said. Quilava took no hesitation and quit gawking at the dancing, and charged forward with flames completely enveloping its fur, the rain hissing and smoking at the flames. Without a word, Petilil jumped into the air, soared over Quilava and landed behind it. Quilava stopped before it ran into the beam—

"Hyper Beam!" Lexi yelled.

"Damn...she plays hard." Lucas muttered. Petilil took a jump back, leaving more space in between them. She pushed out her palm, and orange glowing orb materializing—

"Dodge! Do something!" Darryl said. "Use Quick Attack to get out of the way!"

"Don't let it!" Lexi retaliated. Quilava sprung to the side, getting closer, but Petilil merrily turned its body and its palm, where the orb began getting bigger and brighter. "Now! Release it!" Lexi said. Quilava darted to the side—a bright, orange-yellow beam tore through the area, sounding like a million reams of paper tearing at once. It burnt Quilava in the side and blackened it. Quilava fell and seemed paralyzed on that side.

_And I thought I was ruthless..._Ashka thought, eyes widening at Quilava's attempt to stand back up.

Lexi wasn't sure to keep going. Quilava looked damaged enough.

"Quilava use Ember!" Darryl said.

"Dodge!" Petilil jumped out of the way again, the embers narrowly licking her feet. Before Petilil could land gracefully on the ground, it was yanked backwards, as was Quilava. The stages were moving again, but the look in Quilava's eyes translated to _this isn't over_. It was Taillow against Vigoroth now.

"How do we control this thing? I want a turn!" Ashka groaned, slamming her fist onto the metal beam. The others looked at her strangely. She's never whined before. Then again, they've all had a chance to battle except her.

"Vigoroth use Slash!" In a blink, the white sloth stamped forward, striking a claw against Taillow, slamming it into the beam.

"Taillow!" Lucas said, lowering his chair to see. Taillow didn't get back up.

"Taillow is unable to battle!" The judge said. Lucas returned Taillow and returned back at the top with everyone else.

"Stupid Vigoroth." He muttered.

"That thing is an animal." Lexi said, rubbing her face in a sigh. Their stage span, landing to Dragonair, who had been waiting for a while now for its chance to fight.

"Dragonair use Thunder!" Ashka said, glad that it was finally her turn to show what she's got. Dragonair cringed from its tail to its head, summoning dark clouds—

"Vigoroth get closer!" Darryl said. Vigoroth barreled forward, using its arms to propel it forward. It grabbed Dragonair as if it were a balloon, and held it above its head!

"Dragonair! Get out of there!" Ashka said. Was Vigoroth even allowed to do that? Lightning zapped down from the sky, a brilliant white and blue, shocking both Dragonair and Vigoroth. Vigoroth yelled in pain and threw Dragonair down. It was yanked back onto its stage, and both stages began moving again.

"What was that?" Lexi spat in confusion. "Vigoroth used Dragonair like a rod!"

"It was a good move." Serena noted, receiving a pissed look from Ashka. Now it was Lotad against Quilava. Serena was faster this time and didn't let Darryl confuse her. "Lotad use Bubblebeam!" It was still raining, and Quilava was still burnt on one half. Blue bubbles jet into its face, making it flinch with every pinch. Quilava collapsed, finally.

"Quilava is unable to battle!" The judge said.

"Serena already knocked out half of Darryl's pokémon!" Lexi said as Quilava was returned into its pokéball, the harness abandoned on the stage.

A wave of jealousy passed through Ashka. _We weakened most of them. _She thought as Darryl's stage rotated again, landing on Swalot.

"Swalot use Gunk Shot!"

_Gunk what? _Serena was too slow—Swalot shot an icky green substance at Lotad, mixing in with the black sludge already covering it. Lotad was stuck to the ground and couldn't move. The weight made its legs give out, and it lay on its stomach exhausted.

"Lotad is unable to battle!" The judge said. The crowd exploded into shouts of confusion and horror.

Back at the stands, the rain was fading and the sun was coming shining through the clouds. Megan rubbed her eyes and reassessed the field. "...Okay, so the only pokémon left are Vigoroth, Swalot, Petilil, and Dragonair."

"They're screwed." Daniel said. "Last time Ashka and Lexi worked together in a battle they ended up winning by luck."

"They pulled together." She said, shoving him lightly for what he said. "And they'll do that now too."

Sherry stood up and pulled pom-pom's out of her bag.

"...When did you get those?" Jun asked. She smacked one into his chest and it dropped into his lap.

"Cheer with me!" She demanded, leaving her heels for the chair.

"You're going to cheer barefoot?" James inquired.

"Yes! Why?"

"I...uhh...some people have feet fetishes is all." He stammered, pulling his face back to the battle. Jun joined in cheering, but he kept his shoes on of course.

The stages stopped rotating, having Petilil spar against Vigoroth. It was a brute against a ballerina. Rock against cotton.

"Vigoroth use Fury Swipes!" Darryl said. Vigoroth raged forward, claws glinting in the sun. Petilil automatically dodged, jumping into the air, but Vigoroth reached up into the air and caught her foot, slamming her into the ground.

"Petilil!" Lexi shrieked worriedly. Petilil quickly jumped off the floor, face still calm and gentle. The pokémon refused to look angry, despite how it was feeling. "Leech Seed!" Lexi said. Petilil span and span on one foot, tiny beads shooting out of her skirt and at Vigoroth. The seeds dug into the ground, instantly sprouting into dark green vines that trapped Vigoroth in its fingers. It roared and tried to pull itself free.

"Use Slash to cut the vines!" Darryl yelled, so into the battle that he was leaning over the railing to see better. Vigoroth thrashed through the vines, using his claws to snap them into bits. Petilil jumped into the air, soaring over its head and onto another stage.

"Hyper Beam!" Lexi said. Petilil prepared its palm—

"Use Slash!" Vigoroth ran forward, and before Petilil could finish, he slammed her into the ground again. Petilil fought frowning and pulled itself up, only to fall again when Vigoroth's claws cut right across her face. "Vigoroth, again!" Darryl said.

"Petilil, the Hyper Beam!" Lexi said. Hyper Beam was still in Petilil's palm, just sitting there, waiting to be utilized. Petilil unleashed it right into Vigoroth's face—Vigoroth screamed, flying through the air with no control, front completely burnt brown—he slammed right into a metal beam with a painful _rrrriing!_. Vigoroth didn't move once it hit the ground.

"Vigoroth is unable to battle!" The judge said, lifting the flag towards it. Vigoroth was returned and Petilil was pulled back onto her stage. Darryl's stage locked, leaving Swalot the only pokémon left.

"Gunk Shot!" Darryl said before anything could be congratulated. Green gunk flew out of Swalot's mouth, flying straight into Petilil's face—Petilil, like Vigoroth, smacked its head into the beam, only with a smaller sound. Petilil didn't get up.

"Petilil is unable to battle!"

"Dammit..." Lexi muttered, returning Petilil into its ball. She looked over to Ashka across the beam. "You're up, Ashka. It's all on you."

Ashka scoffed. "Yeah, no pressure or anything." But there obviously was pressure, and her face was stricken with anxiety and her feet went cold, but that was probably because of the height they were at. The stage finally rotated so that it was Dragonair against Swalot.

"Body Slam!" Darryl commanded. Swalot slithered like a snail—a fast snail, but Dragonair was able to dodge to the side just as it tried to slam into it.

"Dragonair use Dragon Rush!" Dragonair imitated a steam train and slammed into Swalot, glowing with a faint blue aura. Swalot held its ground and shook it off.

"Use Encore!" Darryl said, now grinning. Swalot bounced its jiggly body and stretched up its really short hands, and applauded Dragonair. A spotlight from the stadium focused on Dragonair, and Dragonair sucked up the applause, despite the constant cheering from the crowd. Dragonair began barreling towards Swalot without orders.

"Dragonair stop! You'll tire yourself out!" Ashka yelled above the cheering. Dragonair continued to fling itself at Swalot, but Swalot took ease in dodging, only getting brushed by the blue aura surrounding Dragonair.

"Now Swalot, Sludge!" Swalot blasted black chunky gunk into Dragonair's face just as it was going to charge again, sending it back onto the ground. Dragonair paused, the effects of Encore fading.

"Get up Dragonair, come on!" Ashka pleaded, her chair lowered to the middle of the beam.

"You can do it Dragonair!" Lexi said. Dragonair struggled to pull itself off the ground, but it was stiff. If it didn't get up soon, the judge would end the match.

"End this with Body Slam!" Darryl said. Swalot jumped into the air—

"Roll out of the way! Do something Dragonair!" Ashka shouted, her fists making red crescents in her palms. Dragonair's eyes snapped fully open, and it quickly rolled to the side like a hotdog bun, barely dodging Swalot who made the stage rumble. A bright light suddenly enveloped Dragonair's body—

Growing larger, shaping, with wings and legs and arms—the crowd gasped, cheered louder, Darryl groaned—Ashka gasped—the light faded, and left standing was a Dragonite. Despite most of her pokémon having evolved before, every time Ashka witnessed it, it felt new. Dragonair had shed its skin to become something new and more powerful.

"Well, an evolution won't discourage me, no matter how pretty those scales are, hehehe!" Darryl grinned. "Swalot use Sludge!" Swalot opened its mouth—

"Use Fly!" Ashka said after a quick glance of her pokédex of the new moves. Dragonite flapped its wings—except, problem—it couldn't lift off the ground. It's eyes were wide with confusion and fear, and the black gunk was coming right for it—it reached out its newly grown arms and _caught _the sludge, and threw it right back, clocking Swalot in the head. The crowd gasped and went "OHHHH!"

"Swalot use Gunk Shot!" Darryl said. Swalot was huffing and puffing and looking exhausted, but nevertheless it followed its trainer's commands. It cocked its head back—

"Fly Dragonite, fly!" Ashka said. "Beat your wings and fly!"

"Cliché alert." Lucas muttered.

Dragonite pumped its wings—but trying to use these new limbs was impossible to imagine. And then—they moved themselves, beating to the heart that pumped its veins, and Dragonite rose into the air—shaky at first, but enough to dodge the gunk shot. Dragonite dived for Swalot and took it by the mustache, and rose higher and higher, higher than Ashka and Darryl's heads, higher than the nosebleed seats—

"Slam it into the ground!" Ashka yelled.

"Wait! You might kill it!" Lexi said. Dragonite descended like a bullet back towards the ground, and Swalot was merely closing its eyes and hoping for the worst. The two were getting so close to the ground, it looked like Dragonite might crash into the ground as well—

Dragonite flipped, falling feet first, and landed onto the ground smoothly, and set Swalot onto the ground. Swalot was dizzy and exhausted, and it fell off its feet either way.

"Swalot is unable to battle!" The judge declared. "The match goes to the challengers!" The stadium erupted into applause and yells as the four's chairs lowered to the ground. Darryl was pouting as his stage lowered to the ground.

"I'm glad Dragonite didn't try to drop it." Serena said as they all met on the ground.

"Yeah...I don't know if I would've done the same..." Ashka muttered, looking over to Dragonite who had sat on the ground to take a breather.

"Yeah..." Lexi trailed off. "But we won! Woo!"

"Victory kiss?" Lucas asked, opening his arms.

"Eew no!" She laughed, patting his shoulder.

"Aww, why ya gotta shoot a player down like that? I thought you loved me! You said so in that room!" Lucas whined.

"Can you guys solve your couple's dispute later? We've got badges waiting for us." Ashka snapped, already coming to meet Darryl in the middle. The two hurried after her, as well as Serena who took more than a second to get out of the chair. Darryl did the walk of shame to the middle of the stage where the four waited, looking to be dreading looking into the cameras and accepting the loss.

"Hehehehe! Congrats...you people." Darryl said, hesitating to call them kids or adults. The way they had fought—it was definitely something kids couldn't have done. He rummaged through his pockets, patting all of them—"Oh crap, where'd I put them..." He looked up to his hat and removed it, exposing his shoddy comb over—four little trinkets fell out, and he caught them with his hand. "You all deserve it...it's the Bewilder badge."

He picked one up and displayed it. It was in the shape of a crystal ball with the texture of a diamond, with several different colors like pink, blue, and green that gleamed like real jewels. The four each took one, unable to do anything but grin.

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_Two badges! YES! Hoenn League here I come!  
><em>Lucas Taylor and 3 other people like this

**Ashka Storme **6 more badges to go  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

**Ashka Storme **...Why'd you like that?

**Lexi Redstone **You're great motivation Ashka :D you may be...mean sometimes, but it's all in good intentions, right?

**Ashka Storme **I'm not mean. And I wasn't trying to motivate you.

**Lexi Redstone **So you were trying to discourage me? :l What kind of friend does that?

**Ashka Storme **We're not friends.

**Lexi Redstone **According to facebook we are :P

**Jun Kirman **Friends all around :3  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Gerard Eckhart <strong>_**Ashka **__where are you so you can have a picture with your number one fan? Btw love the hair. Keep it._

**Lexi Redstone **See! Even Gerard likes it!

**Ashka Storme **Too late. Already in a ponytail  
>Lexi Redstone boos this<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **Ah, then I'll just use my ponytail-sense to track you

**James Lopreo **:O I HAVE THAT SENSE! It smells like strawberries and hairspray and it comes in a really pretty pot!

**Gerard Eckhart **That's incense.

**James Lopreo **Psh, I knew that. I was just saying it to be funny.

**Gerard Eckhart **No...acting stupid isn't funny.

**Ashka Storme** notify Sherry  
>Sherry Brogan hates this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **Smart or not, we love you James, so don't change :P

**Lucas Taylor **...-is feeling mixed feelings-

**James Lopreo **:3

* * *

><p>Gerard, Jun, Paru, and Sherry were sitting in their preparation room now, similar to the previous group's one. Sherry was deciding to take the make up department into a separate bathroom while the guys just sat there talking strategy.<p>

"Since all Darryl's pokémon are random, we need to have pokémon of each move type to be prepared for anything." Gerard said, assuming leader position. "I have dark and ice covered. Jun, what will you bring?"

"My Tropius!" He said, his eyes gleaming in excitement for the battle that would be happening shortly. "So that's grass and fly!"

"Good." Gerard nodded. "And you, Paru? ...Paru?"

Paru boredly looked up from his 'Gear. "...Honestly guys, I'm not the best battler. I'm not interested in doing this...rotation thing. You can count me out."

"WHAAAT? No!" Jun stood up and shook his head. "No man left behind! This is a team effort!"

"You could've told us that before the teams were picked." Gerard muttered, almost growling. This was his first opportunity for a badge, and he wasn't going to blow it. The door opened, James on the other side.

"GUYS!" He said. "My team is forfeiting the match! They don't want to battle Darryl!"

"Why is everyone giving up?" Jun said. "We need to band together to beat him!"

"There's also money involved." Gerard added. "So...Amber, Imogen, Nicolas, and Irene just...gave up?"

James nodded meekly. "I wanted to show off my skill...Then maybe..." He looked down and blushed. "Maybe...Lexi would be impressed."

"Lexi's with Lucas." Jun said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "I don't think you should aim for someone that my best friend is already with. Then again, if it's true love..."

"Jun, stop talking. You're getting Paru interested in the storyline." Gerard deadpanned. Jun made a zipper motion with his mouth. "Paru, if you don't want to battle, at least let James take your place. Do it for the ladies."

"And for Ashka!" Jun added. Gerard glared at him, unaware that he was blushing.

"You're not battling?" James asked Paru. "Why not?"

Paru shrugged. "I suck at battling. I like watching, not participating."

"I'm glad we got that solved." Gerard said. "So what pokémon are you using James? We already have ice, dark, grass, and flying covered."

"Gret-tear!" James instantly answered, a smiling forming on his face. "Yeah! My Wailord! He's tired of pulling people around."

"We have our water type then." Gerard said, adding another finger to the four already counted. "Wait...will Wailord fit on the stage?"

"They'll think of something." Paru shrugged.

* * *

><p><strong>Paru <strong>_does life have a fast-forward button?_

**Serena Valliya **no.

**Paru **A mute button would be nice to have right around now  
>5 people like this, Serena Valliya dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>The second battle took off with the sound of a pistol, like a horse race. The four trainers were set upon the chairs and harnessed, as were their pokémon that were called out early. Gerard's Snorunt wore a collar, since it couldn't just take off its shawl, James's Wailord wore a collar on its tail, although it wouldn't be able to move much since it was compacted onto the stage, Jun's Tropius wore a collar, and Sherry's Timburr wore the vest.<p>

Darryl's team was just as predictable as the last team that fought. There was a cute Ledyba with big eyes, a twitchy Chatot with a turned-around musical note on its head, a Slowbro who took great interest in the vest, and an...oddly colored Pawniard with an evil glint in its eyes.

"Did he dye his Pawniard's skin blue?" Sherry wondered, using the blue tooth to communicate.

"Animal cruelty!" Jun gasped.

"I think...it's its natural skin tone..." Gerard said, just as confused as the others.

James shook his head. "No guys, it's a shiny."

The other three had looks of envy, some grimacing. In this era, shiny pokémon came at a rate of 1 in 16 thousand. It was a wonder how Darryl got his hands on one, or managed to keep it. Shiny pokémon were always confiscated by the government. Pawniard looked like it could take care of itself, the way it kept stabbing the air with its knife-hands.

The battle commenced with a bang. Tropius was set against Ledyba, and it only took one hit from Fly to exterminate it. The stage span, and Timburr was pit against Pawniard. It didn't end well. Pawniard got close, used Iron Defense to withstand a beating from Chip Away, and was _that _close to using Guillotine, hadn't the staged started moving.

"That thing with knives for hands will be the death of us." Gerard muttered.

"We can do it! Come on guys!" Jun said.

Sherry groaned. "Will you _stop _with the "WE CAN DO IT" crap! You're annoying!" Jun had to hold back the feeling to bite back with harsh words. He'd never been simmered up so fast—at least, not since that encounter with Elliot. He hated that feeling. Sherry was making it worst.

Snorunt was pitted against Chatot. Chatot seemed like a worthy opponent, using Uproar to deflect Frost Breath. It sang Snorunt to sleep and then the stages moved again, with Tropius against Pawniard. Tropius couldn't put a move in edge-wise. Every magical leaf was sliced in half, and they fell like the first snow in Snowpoint city. Tropius used Whirlwind, switching Pawniard's spot on the stage with Chatot. The stage rotated once more.

"How are we going to deal with Pawniard?" Jun sighed, feeling that he was so close to losing Tropius when Guillotine was called.

"I don't know." Gerard sighed, burying his head in hands. "James, Sherry, any ideas?"

"Sparkles." Sherry said.

"It's still a pokémon, no matter how much of a death machine it resembles." James said. "We have to tire it out."

Timburr and Chatot's stages locked to each other. Chatot darted forward, its wings getting ready to use Air Cutter. Timburr was huffing enough as it is, and Sherry had it use it's piece of wood to protect itself. Comets rose around Timburr as it used Focus Energy, but Chatot merrily used Mimic, and those glittery comets danced around it too. Timburr didn't have enough energy to do Dynamic Punch, but it didn't want to let its trainer down. It put down the beam of wood, barreled forward with fiery fists. Chatot used Air Cutter, thwacking its wings in mid-air and sending sharp shadows of feathers at Timburr.

_Ping! Ping! Ping! _That was the sound of Dynamic Punch smashing into Air Cutter, shattering every single feather into a million of glittery pieces. James gasped in wonder. Despite being a creeper and stalker, Sherry was one hell of a coordinator. But when it was time for Timburr to send its final blow to Chatot, it couldn't, and collapsed of exhaustion at Chatot's untrimmed feet.

"Timburr is unable to battle!" The officiator announced.

"Hehehehe! You'll need more than fancy displays to beat me! I'm the fanciest!" Darryl cackled from his stage.

"Timburr, return." Sherry said with a sigh, pointing the hand-painted pokéball at the ground until it picked up Timburr.

"Hey...you did fine." Jun muttered, wondering if his optimism would make her bite again. She didn't reply—just hung her head and sighed.

"You'll still get the badge if we win." Gerard said as the stage rotated them.

"_IF_." She repeated.

"When will it be _my _turn to battle? I've been sitting here the whole time!" James said. His chair faced Darryl's creepy smile, and that could only mean one thing—it was time for Gret-tear to battle! He eagerly looked down at his opponent to see what he was facing—

"Aww crap. It's the blue Diablo." James said.

Pawniard dashed forward on its trainers commands, preparing a Metal Claw. Only, when it punctured Wailord's skin—it was like stabbing cement with a butter knife. It wasn't effective.

"Oh. ADVANTAGE!" James shrieked. "Wailord, use Bounce!"

It would've been that easy if Wailord had jumped into the air and flattened Pawniard, but it couldn't, because just as Wailord flopped into the air (causing the stage to sigh from less weight), the stage began to rotate again, and Pawniard was pulled back before Wailord could crush it under its massive underbelly. When Wailord landed on the ground, every single person in the stadium jumped up an inch, standing or not.

"That was actually a pretty good plan." Gerard noted as the stage continued rotating. "Look at Pawniard—its panting."

"Should we give it water?" Jun asked innocently.

"Yes." James nodded. "WATER FROM WAILORD'S WATER PULSE!"

"You said 'water' twice." Sherry said.

"Then we'll leave Pawniard to you, James." Gerard said. The stages stopped, pitting Snorunt against Chatot once again. Snorunt was still asleep, despite all the loud cheering from the crowd. Chatot flew above Snorunt and used Air Cutter—Snorunt awoke and used Frost Breath! Chatot froze on contact, falling right off the edge of the stage. Chatot could not get up and was returned.

The stages switched around, Tropius versus Slowbro, who had not been used at all the entire match. Slowbro made it rain, but Tropius was not discouraged and ended up sending it back in a flurry from Whirlwind, although because Pawniard was directly on the stage opposite of Slowbro on the beam, Slowbro didn't move. Slowbro launched a Water Pulse, only to be destroyed by dozens of multicolored Magical Leafs. Tropius banged its wings off the ground and soared into the air, preparing to use Fly—

Only to be slammed back onto the stage from Slowbro's Psychic. While it was down, Darryl's stage changed to Pawniard, and Pawniard leapt into action instantly and clamped its knives on Tropius's long neck, performing Guillotine. Tropius was out like a light.

"Tropius in unable to battle!" The judge announced. Jun returned his pokémon with worry. What if Tropius's neck was cut off for real? That move should be banned.

"It's all you Gerard." James said as the stage rotated to Snorunt against Slowbro.

Snorunt's next move was Shadow Ball, and the purple orb materialized above its head. Slowbro was told to stop it with Psychic, but when Shadow Ball was released, Psychic could not get a grip on it—it was like trying to catch a bar of wet soap. Shadow Ball knocked into Slowbro, and Snorunt padded forward and clamped its teeth on its head, using Crunch.

Slowbro retaliated using Zen Headbutt, its forehead rippling with light—Snorunt ended up thrashing onto the ground, followed by another round of Psychic that tossed it into the air. In mid-air, Gerard called Crunch, and Snorunt landed on Slowbro with a shadow of its teeth clamping over it.

"OHHH! It's super effective!" commented the judge. "Slowbro isn't moving! It's unable to battle!"

"We might actually win!" Sherry said, her face brightening. Darryl returned Slowbro in a stream of red light.

"All that's left is Pawniard." Gerard said. The stage finally rotated to the last pokémon, who looked refreshed and ready to kill. Err, battle. Snorunt was a little tired for battling so many pokémon at once—rotation was so different from regular battles. You weren't expected to battle one at a time. It was pretty much one on four. "Snorunt use Frost Breath!"

"Hehehehe! Iron Defense!" Darryl said. Pawniard braced itself, and its exterior began to harden and shine brighter in the sun. Snorunt blew out a fluid cyan stream of icy cold air, except the moment it touched, it did nothing. Snorunt and Gerard grimaced. "Now Pawniard, Metal Sound!" Pawniard put down its arms, closed its eyes, and screamed a pitch equivalent to a million nails on chalkboard. Snorunt clamped its tiny hands over its ears, feeling like its brain was melting.

"I really don't have a problem with this sound." Sherry said as the guys covered their ears. The bluetooths (blueteeth?) were acting funny from the intense screaming and were creating static.

When the sound was finally faded, Snorunt opened its eyes—Pawniard was coming right at it with Metal Claw! Gerard wasn't saying anything, so what to do? Snorunt ran. Pawniard was too fast and sliced across its back with Metal Claw.

"Snorunt use Toxic!" Gerard said, coming back from a somewhat mental lapse. Snorunt span around, spitting purple poison in Pawniard's face—Pawniard just smirked and wiped it off.

"Poison moves don't work on Steel types." James said.

"It would've been helpful to know that earlier." Gerard deadpanned.

"You didn't ask!"

Gerard shook his head. "Snorunt use Frost Breath!"

"Dodge and use Guillotine!" Darryl said. Pawniard dashed around Snorunt who blew out silver frost, and turned around and smacked Snorunt in the neck with its blade! Snorunt was out cold in an instant.

Just like how Timburr almost fell, and how Tropius was defeated—Snorunt was taken down by Pawniard's deadly Guillotine. Gerard returned Snorunt, and then looked over at James, the only one they had left.

"It's in your hands now James." He said albeit melodramatically.

"Don't worry! Gret-tear will squash him!" James said as the stage rotated for the last time. "SQUISH HIM LIKE A PANCAKE!"

"Not sure how to take care of this elephant..." Darryl muttered.

"HE'S A WHALE!" James shrieked from across the field.

"Oh yeah? Well my pokémon is a mutant child-scissor-sharp thing!" Darryl retorted, sticking his nose up indignantly. "Pawniard use Guillotine!"

"That's the move that can knock out a pokémon in one touch!" Jun said.

"We know. That's how all of you guys lost." Sherry shrugged.

"Gret-tear use Mist!" James said. White steam puffed out of the Wailord's blowhole—

"Your Wailord is an island! WE CAN STILL SEE YOU!" Darryl said.

"Not for long! Gret-tear use Bounce!" James said. Wailord pulled itself into the air just as Pawniard reached it—

"Pawniard get out of there!"

"Don't let it get away!" James said.

"That won't be a problem. Gret-tear is gargantuan." Gerard muttered.

_SLAM! _Wailord landed on the ground, and the only sound that came from under it was a tiny _snap_. Wailord moved itself to the side. The blue Pawniard looked 2 dimensionally squashed to the stage.

"Pawniard is unable to battle! The match goes to the challengers!" The judge said. The crowd erupted in applause as the chairs lowered to the ground—

All the other teens gathered onto the stage to congratulate the winners—Ashka glomping Gerard, Lexi hugging James to which he nerdishly sighed, Jun getting a high-five from Lucas, and Sherry getting a group hug from Amber and Imogen.

Darryl came over, his Pawniard returned. "HEYYYY! Can I join the group hug?"

Ashka sighed. "Fine, get over here."

Nicolas said, "YAY! MORE HUGS!"

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_Wow! We're on a roll! We should go to that tournament in Lilycove!  
><em>3 people like this

**Imogen Yale **I'll enter if Amber does :P

**Jun Kirman **We've got to enter online! The window is only open for five minutes!

**Lucas Taylor **O.O...really?

**Jun Kirman **From 10:10 to 10:15.  
>2 people like this<p>

**James Lopreo **That probably means that only 20 people will make it.

**Imogen Yale **I found the first 13 contestants -.-

* * *

><p><strong>Kaisei Arcan <strong>_Anyone else participating in that tournament?  
><em>Jun Kirman and 12 other people say 'yes'

**Jun Kirman **:O BUDDY! You'll be there?

**Kaisei Arcan **Yeah, I'm taking a boat there right now.

**James Lopreo **Boat? Why not take a plane?

**Kaisei Arcan **They don't have an airport.

**James Lopreo **Why not a bus? Or a hover taxi?

**Kaisei Arcan **Lilycove city is completely submerged underwater.

**Jun Kirman **Not all of it...just 98.9 percent :3  
>James Lopreo dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>To celebrate the two winnings from today's rotation battles, the rangers decided to take the campers out to an ice cream place with its own anti-gravity frost tank. Almost everyone was still in the tank trying to catch their dessert while Lucas and Lexi decided to share a giant sundae that they bought from the register.<p>

"I'm thinking..." Lexi trailed off, digging her spoon into the side of the mountain-sundae, "Maybe we should stay friends?"

"You did not just suggest that." Lucas said, pointing at her accusingly with his spoon.

"I think it's more fun when we're not committed. Wouldn't you rather not be tied down?" She asked.

"I wouldn't mind. It's a surprise hearing this when you're always talking about love." He said. The syrup on their sundae was dripping over the glass bowl.

"I just..." Lexi shrugged. _I don't trust you!_

"Hi guys!" Jun slid into the booth with them and dug his spoon into their ice cream. They both looked at him with the same, annoyed, 'what-are-you-doing-here' look. He looked between the two, gasped, and stood back up. "OHHH. OH—I see what's going on. You're on a date. AWKWARD!" He grinned and turned back towards the frost tank. "Alright, enjoy your...DATE!" He giggled and ran away.

"You have weird friends." Lexi pointed out.

"So do you." Lucas retorted. She nodded wistfully.

"Maybe we just...see how it goes?" She asked.

"Yeah!" He nodded and pulled out his 'Gear. "Now I'll just change my status to 'It's complicated...'"

Megan came up to them with her own waffle cone of ice cream. "Hi you two! We're going to be leaving for Lilycove Ruins tomorrow, so if you're entering that tournament, you might want to do it now."

"What time is it?" Lexi asked.

Lucas looked down at his 'Gear. "10:11."

"Aww crap!" She grinned and pulled out her 'Gear.

* * *

><p><strong>Ello! Excuse my tardy update, and the lame battle-writing for the second battle. I tried doing them differently so it wouldn't be boring. Also, I checked the stats yesterday. Friday had as many hits as a regular update day -.- ...WHAT? That's...weird.<strong>

**Thanks to **_Shadow of Eckhart_**, **_BNVshark_**, **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, **_KingOfStories01_**, and **_Zokolov_** for reviewing last chapter! :D And thank you too to **_iflip4dolphins_** who subscribed! Wee! Long time no see :D (never used that expression before either, heh XD)**

**Next chapter will be Lilycove/More background plots/Less Shipping (maybe?)/Some of the tournament! Also might/will be delayed to next next week (December 9th or so) so that I can catch up on other things/obsess over sims3pets I just got/write a Christmas special for this story/draw Eastward pictures (hopefully). **

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	22. Shuttle

**Chapter Twenty-One - Shuttle  
><strong>_Thirteenth day of traveling, Fortree City very early in the morning, 5:34am on a Saturday._

**Lucas Taylor **_LMS FOR A COLOR  
>[] Red: You need to be de-friended<br>[] Pink: You're cute  
>[] Green: You're alright<br>[] Blue: I want ur G'code  
>[] Yellow: I would date you<br>[] Orange: You've made me smile  
>[] Gray: We should talk more<br>[] Purple: ILY  
>[] Gold: You're important to me<br>[] White: We should chill soon  
>[] Black: You should post this as your status<br>_Jun Kirman, Lexi Redstone, James Lopreo, and six other people like this

* * *

><p>A crashing sound jolted Daniel out of his dream where he and Megan were raising Pita, who transformed into a real blue-haired child. The room was still dark, and the digital 3-D clock across from him read 5:34 AM. He turned his head confusedly and patted the spot beside him. Megan's body was absent, as was her body heat and the mold she would've made in the mattress.<p>

"Hey...what's going on?" He asked to anything or anyone in the room, his eyes half open and his hair shaken up afro-style. He said, "...lights." The lights lit up the room as if it was noon at the beach, and he ended up searing his eyelids closed.

"Shh. You're sleep turning-electronics-on." A familiar voice said from the front of the room, sounding as if their body was turned around. "Lights off." The room became dark once again. And cold for some odd reason. Daniel pulled up the comforter and squinted in the darkness. Megan was packing things into her bag.

"Hey...? Where are you going?"

"I got an emergency call an hour ago." She said, not slowing her pace in gathering her things and stuffing it into her bag. "They need me to do some investigations around Hoenn. There've been several unregistered spacecrafts in the skies and they haven't been found to see who's in them."

"Who else would be in them besides rich folk?" He said. "And you can't leave now! What about the journey?"

She sighed and began tying her hair into a ponytail. "I've been exempted for a few days. I'm sure you'll be able to reach Lilycove safely without me. Besides—you've got Rodolfo."

"Rodolfo is a wall. You expect the kids to listen to a wall?" He said. He wished she wouldn't leave him all the time. It was ripping his heart out every time.

"All the kids listen and respect you." She reassured. "You've got the seniors to help straighten out the wild ones if something happens. It'll be okay."

"It won't..." He whined.

"I can't miss this opportunity to work with a Rank S ranger," She continued, heaving the bag onto her shoulder. "I could learn so much from them!"

"Who?" He wondered.

"I don't know, someone named Ross." She said with a shrug. "He or she is two years younger than us and she's already one of the region's best."

"Ross..." Daniel looked down in thought. Wasn't that the shy blonde woman who used nets on the Skarmory during the magnetic storm? And she even helped Gerard when he was in mid-memory loss. She was the girl from Orre. "I've met her. She seems to know what she's doing."

Megan nodded and was already halfway out the door, light from the hallway battling the shadows of the room. "So can you handle the fort while I'm gone?"

"Yeah." He sighed, nodding. "See ya later." He retreated under the blankets.

She stared at him softly and smiled. "You won't even know I'm gone." With a gentle shut of the door, she was gone.

Daniel lifted his head from the comforter. He already knew she was gone, even before they cuddled under the sheets and fell asleep last night.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Jun Kirman's Wall  
><strong>_[] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[] Yellow: I would date you  
>[] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[X] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status  
><em>Jun Kirman and 3 other people like this

**Jun Kirman **Ditto my friend :D

**James Lopreo **Doo mine next!

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **James Lopreo's Wall  
><strong>_[] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[X] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[] Yellow: I would date you  
>[] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status_

**James Lopreo **I'm relieved.

**Lucas Taylor **I was going to say red...

**James Lopreo **:(

* * *

><p>Irene barged into the males' room, the automatic door shrinking to the side in an instant. The guys looked up in surprise—Gerard, packing his bag, Lucas, typing, and Jun mid-pulling his white t-shirt over his head. "Everyone out!" She shouted, sounding very much serious and pointing to the hallway. The three swapped looks and quickly shuffled out the door—Irene held out her arm, stopping Jun. "Not you. I need to talk to you."<p>

"Umm...okay?" Jun fidgeted and backed up. Irene closed the door and began pacing, her long blue hair and white skirt bouncing as she walked. Jun stared after her nervously and began to get dizzy. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked gently. She looked like she slept on the wrong side of the foamy mattress.

Irene stopped at the dresser and swooped up Jun's 'Gear, began tapping at it and going through its insides. "You know it's only a few more days, right? Kai's going to pull the trigger."

"Unfortunately..." Jun sighed, taking a seat at the edge of the closest bed.

"We decided to call in the squads as soon as the tournament in Lilycove is over." She said. "I need to know now if you'll bail on us or not."

He became silent, staring at his fingers and rubbing them together. "I don't...I...I don't know..." He pondered on all of his friends, and how great this world was before Kai went and meddled. He didn't even understand the point of invasion. "Can't we coexist without war?"

"We already tried that! Humans think we're aliens, no matter how human we look." She spat back. She uncapped the water bottle on the TV stand and splashed the remaining water on him.

"AH! Irene!" Jun shrieked and stood up, his face dripping water and his shirt clinging to him like toilet paper. Then, as she predicted, his apricot skin peeled away like paint until he was just a blue-skinned thing like a blueberry. His ears popped off, unraveling to 2 big trumpet-things. Irene pointed his 'Dex at him on the camera screen.

"See yourself? They won't accept us. They'll shoot first and ask questions later."

"It's still not right!" He said, pushing away the 'Dex. He hated how he looked underneath all that makeup. "Fighting only ends in death! One life shouldn't be sacrificed for war!"

"It's not you who will die, Jun!" She groaned. "You me and Kai will get on the ship before the invasion, and we'll wait in the Thermosphere while the fleets do their things. They'll abduct a little, shoot some beams, take over the capitals—BAM. Earth is ours. It's painless."

"What about our friends?" He protested. "Lucas! Lexi! Serena! Ashka, James! Even Gerard!"

Irene grimaced at Gerard's name. She admits, she had a crush on him. She didn't even care that he had seen her true skin once and had even erased most of his memories to keep the secret. She liked him enough to overlook all that.

"They won't accept who we are either. I mean...we could offer to take them Marrion...they could integrate and stuff...but they'd feel more alien than we do on this planet." She looked shyly down at her arms. She grew up on Earth, and visiting her home planet for the first time felt nothing like family. Everyone was blue, had this friction-touch, and those weird ears.

Jun shook his head. "I'm not going to let the Blumans take over this planet, Irene."

Her expression turned harsh. "So you're just going to turn on us?" Without a response, she said, "_Fine_! Be that way! You'll just end up as a slave like the rest of them!" With that, Irene turned on her shoe and exited out to the hall. Jun quickly ran to the bathroom and locked the door before anyone saw him.

In his haste, the adrenaline got the friction moving and he accidentally melted part of the doorknob. He looked straight into the mirror, scaring himself with his true appearance. He quickly went through his bag for the concealer and began rubbing it on his face.

_Forget the Blumans. _He thought, ignoring the burning and tingling on his skin. _Those crazy zubats won't get _my_ planet._

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Lexi Redstone's Wall  
><strong>_[] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[] Yellow: I would date you  
>[X] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status  
><em>Lexi Redstone and 2 other people like this

**Lexi Redstone **Aww...thanks :3

* * *

><p>Irene exited from Jun's room, speeding down to the left. Ashka, behind her, frozen a few feet away from the door at the right. She went unseen for the most part, and if she could, she would've made herself invisible. She wasn't sure what she just heard.<p>

_The hell was that? _She thought, her eyes widening. _Irene and Jun...WHAT? Reminds me of that thing Gerard had..._Her memories brought her back to that night near Mt. Chimney where she and Gerard had a fight because of the weird plasma-gun looking thing he was smuggling at the bottom of his bag. _Maybe Gerard knows..._She decided, and began her walk to the lobby where everyone was meeting up.

At the lobby though, only James, Serena, and Imogen were present. James as always was sucking on a sustenance pack, Serena was reading an eBook, and Imogen was just braiding the fluffy cotton of her Cottonee. Ashka searched around for Gerard, her eyes wandering over the crystalline clean of the spot over the fireplace and the corners and the couches and behind the marble twisted columns with carved branches running through them. The line to the nurses' desk was packed all the way to the automated doors but even then, Gerard was not in the mix.

"Have you guys seen Gerard?" She asked, rushing over to where they were situated at the couches.

"Not a thing." Imogen shook her head.

"Not in the cafeteria." James said, also shaking his head.

"I think I saw him outside with his Shroomish, training." Serena said, her eyes pointing towards the back halls of the 'Center that led to the training grounds outside. Ashka silently thanked her and ran outside, the heat smacking her like a sweaty rag. She groaned and squinted through the light and hanging vines. The thick walkway-tree branches branched out in several directions, leading to huge caged boxes that levitated off the ground. She spotted him to the left and slowly crawled past the branch and into the caged box.

Shroomish was a tiny thing, pale green and spotted with sickly darker green spots. Currently it was practicing Spore, just spinning on one foot freely and releasing tiny white flakes onto the tarmac like snow from its waist. It began getting clumsy and tripped over, ending up on its head and the spore particles pouring out of it like a sandbag.

Gerard shook his head. "Quit playing around Shroomish. That Spore looks like child's play."

"I dunno." Ashka said, sneaking up behind him and yawning. "The effects seem to be working on me this early in the morning."

He turned to her and grinned, dropping his crossed arms. "That's because _you_ didn't get enough sleep last night."

"_You _were arguing with me on IM all night about whether or not pigmies were real." She shot back.

"Fair enough." He said, and his eyes switched back over to Shroomish. "Do you think maybe he's just not serious enough?" She shrugs. He smirked. "Shroomish, give me two laps around the area." Shroomish groaned, pulling itself off the ground. "No whining! I want to see sweat!" Shroomish took off, running slow due to its circular shape and double stubby feet.

Now just the two of them, or until Shroomish finished the lap, Ashka broke out what she heard. "I heard Jun and Irene talking,"

"Eavesdropper." He accused with a smirk.

"No! I heard that—"

"That they're in love, going to elope, yes, I know. It's not that shocking." He smiled, catching her frustrated expression.

"What, are you an Irene and Jun shipper now?"

He shrugged. "Just saying. They shared floss once, you know." After a disgusted shiver he said, "So what did you overhear not-so-accidentally?"

"Well..." She started in a low tone, unsure who was overhearing _them_. "I only heard something at the end—something about enslaving the human race and crap, some kind of _invasion_—hell, I don't know! Stop looking at me like that!"

His raised eyebrow expression stood frozen like a Picasso portrait. "...When you start talking about slavery and invasions, are you expecting me to _not_ be worried? Maybe it was something else—maybe they were playing a videogame or reading an eBook."

"It all adds up!" She shouted, exasperated that she needed proof for her best friend to believe her. "The foreign spacecrafts! The secretiveness! Your amnesia!"

"We still don't know what caused that." He reminded, his face grimacing when he remembering the time he forgot.

"And the gun! Remember that? The weird nerf thing you said you found?"

He stared at her strangely. "...What gun?"

Her head fell. "How can you not remember? It's in your bag! I used it to cause a volcano to erupt!" The last part she wasn't so proud to admit.

"I remember the volcano erupting, but I can't remember why..." He muttered, shrugging off his hiking pack and catching it before it hit the ground. Shroomish was finally reaching them but continued going to finish the second lap, already panting heavy and sweat flicking off it like rainwater.

"All your memory isn't back?" She asked, crouching down to look in the bag as well.

He looked up in thought. "Most of it...just...some things are fuzzy. I can't recall any type of gun that I've seen unless I googled it." He zipped open the main compartment of his pack and shoved aside the clothes that were newly washed by the powerful small washing machines in his 'Center room. He stuck his arm inside felt around the bottom, but he didn't feel for any type of weapon in there. "None." He sighed.

"No!" Ashka whined, looking through it herself, although Gerard was hesitant to let her sift through his underwear, "It has to be in here! No one else went through your bag, right?" She gave up and returned her hands to her pockets.

"Not that I remember." He said, zipping the bag back up.

"Do you at least believe me?" She asked hesitantly. They shared a look, his eyes penetrating her expression and scanning for bluffing. He knew she wouldn't go to the trouble of making something up just for the fun of it.

"Yeah..." He sighed, standing back up. "We should keep an eye on Irene and Jun, then."

Ashka beamed in gratitude. Shroomish finally reached them with his final lap done, and he lied face first on the ground because it was the most comfortable surface in crawling distance. Gerard laughed and returned him to his pokéball for rest.

Lexi came from the inside of the 'Center and was standing at the platform behind the branch that led to the cage. "Guys, the shuttle is here! Hurry up!"

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Serena Valliya's Wall  
><strong>_[] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[] Yellow: I would date you  
>[] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[X] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status  
><em>3 people like this

**Serena Valliya **Really?

**Lucas Taylor **Yeah :) I know you always have my back

**Lexi Redstone **d'awww...

**Serena Valliya **What..

**Lexi Redstone **Nothing ;)  
>2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p>The three seniors returned to the lobby where the rest of their traveling group was gathering. Daniel and Rodolfo were at the front counting heads, Daniel doing most of the work and Rodolfo just working it in his best "fabulous" pose.<p>

"Where's Ms. Megan?" Jun asked while Daniel was counting, and he ended up skipping someone and had to start over.

"She ran away from Daniel because of his ugly nose." Rodolfo said while smirking.

Daniel attempted to ignore him and again lost his place while counting. "Keep talking about my nose and yours will end up broken."

Amber got tired of his finger constantly counting her and said, "WE'RE ALL HERE!"

"Are we sure?" Jun asked. "Where's Nicolas?"

"Got 'em!" Sherry said, holding up an end of the leash.

"Yup, we're all here." Daniel said, finally putting his arm down. Pita was standing below him and playing with her fake flower necklace. "As for Megan...she's been called to help with an investigation, but she should be back in a few days. It'll be alright without her." Everyone could tell it wouldn't with his crestfallen face.

He led them outside to the large elevator that presumably took them down to the ground, Serena being the one to cover her eyes from the height they were at. James teased her during the short ride down by trying to pry her fingers from her face.

The shuttle waited patiently from outside the elevator, having the appearance of a 4 wide-windowed bus with a short doggie nose-front and double bus doors and rows of seats on the ceiling. Mr. Valacio waved from the driver's seat with his plastic arm. He opened the doors and Daniel leaned at the doorway and peered inside.

"You're the driver?" He inquired with slight suspicion. Doesn't he have a vine system to run?

"Sure am!" Mr. Valacio grinned wide. "Why? Have a problem with it?"

"Didn't your license get revoked?"

"I'm not that old!" He barked, irritated. "Do you want me to take you to Lilycove or not?"

Daniel sighed. "Fine, you can drive." _There goes my hopes for an old-men-less trip. _He turned to the campers waiting for their cue. "Come on guys, in." Everyone piled into the shuttle, swallowed and metaphorically spat out onto the roof where everyone wanted to sit for the view. Rodolfo and Daniel entered last with Pita joining the teens at the roof.

"Does this thing fly?" Rodolfo asked.

"You can't drive." Daniel pointed out, reminding him about the recent FUI. Rodolfo scowled. "Besides, aren't vehicles prohibited in Fortree?"

"All the townspeople have agreed to let you slide as long as we get the brats out of town." Mr. Valacio shrugged. "The shuttle also doubles as a submarine so we can cross the ocean."

"Are the oxygen pumps full?"

Mr. Valacio pointed to the air gauge on the dashboard.

"Just checking." Daniel grinned bashfully.

Rodolfo stayed on the lower deck while Daniel went upstairs to check if everyone was wearing their automated seatbelts. With a thorough check to make sure Nicolas doesn't gnaw though the nylon, the shuttle swerved off down the dirt path to the edge of route 121.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Irene Connor's Wall**  
><em>[] Red: You need to be de-friended<br>[X] Pink: You're cute  
>[] Green: You're alright<br>[] Blue: I want ur G'code  
>[] Yellow: I would date you<br>[] Orange: You've made me smile  
>[] Gray: We should talk more<br>[] Purple: ILY  
>[] Gold: You're important to me<br>[] White: We should chill soon  
>[] Black: You should post this as your status<em>

**Irene Connor **:P it'd be nicer if you told me in person.

**Lucas Taylor **You should just be happy you got a compliment out of me ;P

**James Lopreo **IRENE! White.

**Irene Connor **No thank you...

**James Lopreo **T.T

**Lucas Taylor **There are plenty of fish in the digital sea! :P Don't give up!

**Jun Kirman **:o You're being awfully nice lately

**Lucas Taylor **Stupid LMS truth serum :[  
>4 people like this<p>

* * *

><p>Through an hour since Fortree city the shuttle had passed different scenarios, and it became a game between most of the teens to point out pokémon they saw. They saw litters of Zigzagoon and Linoone and a few even raced alongside for a few seconds before wandering off the paths and becoming tinier the farther they got. They passed thick forests of trees housing those who walked to Fortree for work and more tribes of friendlier Absol and hiding Kecleon's.<p>

They were approaching the sea line soon, but until then Lucas decided to share with Jun some of the old pick-up lines he found on the internet. James was sitting nearby, as was Lexi and Serena who kept her eye on him constantly. Ashka and Gerard sat at the front near Amber and Imogen.

Lucas IM'ed the website link to Jun and James.

"Ha! These picked up women of the 21st century?" Lucas scoffed. "Do you have an eraser? Because I can't get you out of my mind."

"Aww, that's cute." Lexi said, tilting her head to the side.

"I don't get it." James said. "You need to translate it to present-day terms."

"This one." Lucas said. "If I was cosine squared and you were sine squared we would be one."

James gasped. "I _get _it!"

Jun grinned. "A bit too mathy for me to understand. I like this one." He showed Lucas.

Lucas read it and looked over to Serena who was next to Lexi. "Hey Serena!" He said, making her head tilt up. "If beauty were sunlight, you'd shine from a million light-years away."

Serena stared at him strangely and her ears turned red.

Lucas and James busted out into childish laughter. Lexi giggled and prodded Serena with her shoulder, who still sat stiff.

"That one was cute." Lexi said.

"It's not like they'd use it in real life." Serena muttered.

"What are you guys doing over there?" Gerard asked with an eyebrow lifted, wondering why their laughter was rattling the bus.

"These are hilarious! Read!" Lucas lifted his 'Gear and then sent the link to Gerard. "Hey, I've got one they should add." He looked around the bus at the girls and wondered who to use it on. It didn't really matter to him—he was just joking around, and Serena's red in the face must've meant that they were finding it funny too.

"Why are you looking up cheesy pickup lines?" Lexi asked.

"Because we're in a relationship and it's complicated." He shrugged. "I'm trying to de-complicate it over here by making you laugh."

"It's not working when you're using the lines on other girls." Serena pointed out.

"Oh?" He said. "Lexi's not jealous at all. You want to know why, Serena? Because you are the reason for global warming."

"How?" She spat. This wasn't funny.

"Because you melted my heart." He replied, then a grin broke out on his face and he started laughing again. James made a mental note to write that one down because Serena was even redder. She didn't find it funny, though.

Lexi felt awkward that Lucas was pulling out all these pickup lines and using it on Serena. She turned out to look at the scenery and found that they were going downhill. The docking area was visible from here.

"There are alien lines on here too." Jun muttered. "I don't know if I should be offended or not."

"Why would you be offended?" Lucas asked, looking at him strangely as you would to a best friend who was having a crazy moment. Irene turned her head from the road and gave Jun a look that said 'I _dare _you to confess, traitor'.

Jun shook his head and pocketed his 'Gear. "Nothing." He said.

"We're approaching the dock!" Daniel said from the staircase at the lower deck. "Those of you who need to go to the bathroom better go now before you see all that water!"

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Sherry Brogan's Wall  
><strong>_[XXXX] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[] Yellow: I would date you  
>[] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status  
><em>Sherry Brogan dislikes this

**Sherry Brogan **I'm mad you put all those dumb X's

**Lucas Taylor **You are one -.-

**Sherry Brogan **Not of yours! :[ Why are you being so mean?

**Lucas Taylor **I quadruple answered this question. TAKE A HINT. :[

**Irene Connor **You lost your niceness FAST.  
>2 people agree<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Eh, me and Lexi had a falling out while going to the bathroom.

**Irene Connor **Did you try to follow her in there? O_o

**Lucas Taylor **Psh no. I don't do that anymore :P

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_The vending machine is STUCCCKKK!_

**Imogen Yale **Did you try ironing the dollar?

**James Lopreo **I used a credit card T.T

**Amber Hendrix **I can take a crowbar to it and try to fix it  
>James Lopreo likes this<p>

**James Lopreo **No thanks, it's not necessary anymore. **Serena **fixed it :3

* * *

><p><strong>Serena Valliya <strong>_Still a bit frazzled from that bus ride -_- think I might be sick  
><em>Paru dislikes this

**Paru **You must be a switch 'cause you turn me on ;)

**Serena Valliya **Not you too -.-

**Paru **I DID NOT WRITE THATT. Lucas had my 'Gear.

**Serena Valliya ***is not believing you*

**Paru **Why would I ever compliment you?

**Serena Valliya **Why not?

**Paru **Because I don't like you like that -.- And I don't use cheesy pickup lines either

**Lucas Taylor **Yeah, it was me :P  
>Paru and Serena Valliya strongly dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>"EVERYONE ON THE BUS!" Rodolfo yelled for Daniel from the parking lot. He climbed down from the upper level of the shuttle to the lower deck and found Daniel typing away on his styler. "Oh, so this is how it is now? You get to dilly-dally while I strain my melodious vocal chords?"<p>

Daniel looked up and blinked. Half of that sentence he didn't even understand. "I just posted on Facebook for the kids to get on the bus."

"...Then why did you make me go up there and yell?" Whimpered Rodolfo, whose shoulders slouched in disappointment and his orange hair slumping. Daniel shrugged a shoulder and counted heads as they passed.

"Take a seat on this level." He said before Ashka could open the door to the roof. "We're going under."

"Oh yeah..." She muttered. Gerard smiled and nudged her lightly. The two took a seat in the middle, and the rest of the campers filled the shuttle one by one. Daniel was glad that everyone had come at once so they wouldn't have to wait. Well, except their driver, who was taking an exceptionally long time in the bathroom. While he was waiting, he locked the bolted door to the roof so nothing would leak.

"Sorry I'm late!" Mr. Valacio said as he scrambled up the short steps of the shuttle to the driver's seat. "The toilet had so many buttons! I didn't know how to flush!"

"The toilets were automated." James reminded from the front seats.

"Now you tell me!" Mr. Valacio laughed. "Everyone sit!"

"They are." Daniel pointed out.

"I meant you."

Daniel grinned sheepishly and took the seat beside James as the shuttle fluttered with stifled giggles from the others. It felt so rattling to have his girlfriend's dad tell him what to do. Rodolfo was being immature and pointing and laughing obnoxiously.

Mr. Valacio began calling out commands to the dashboard and turning controls until the entire shuttle began to rock and rumble, and the seats at the ceiling overturned so that they were hanging overhead, and an extra layer of metal gripped around the shuttle and the hover disks shrunk to a molecular level. Two airplane-like wings with medium sized turbines at the ends popped out of the side.

"Let's dive!" Mr. Valacio said, starting the engine.

"Weeee!" Jun said, putting his arms up as the shuttle launched off the dock and into the water. The line of water surface disappeared and dark blue waters took up the front of the glass windshield. "Aww. That was anticlimactic."

Irene pressed her face to the cold glass porthole and breathed fog onto it. "WHERE ARE THE POKÉMON?"

"We're still in shallow waters. We won't find any here." Daniel said. "I remember swimming across the ocean in only swim trunks, once." He sighed at the memory. "I had Sharpedos on my tail for at least a mile."

Jun stared at him strangely. "Did you lose a limb?"

Daniel grinned. "I almost lost a toe, but no. Pita knocked them out for me." At the sound of her name, Pita yipped in agreement from the highchair in the back.

"I swam in the ocean once!" Mr. Valacio said, working the dashboard, his fingers never on one spot for more than a second. "A Sharpedo gnawed my arm right off!"

"When I go fishing with my dad, he lets me eat the pokémon straight off the rod." Amber shared absently. Imogen cringed from beside her.

"You eat your catches alive?" Serena inquired with a widen eyed expression.

Amber scoffed. "I gorge out the eyes first, _then _eat."

Sherry nodded, because she's seen it in person. "It's freaky when she does it. She uses her fingers."

"Eew eew eew!" Lexi cried, covering her ears somewhere within the massive blonde hair of hers, "I can't hear any more of this pokémon-murdering! Disgusting!"

"Vegetarian." Amber scoffed, turning back out to her porthole.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Gerard Eckhart's Wall  
><strong>_[] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[] Yellow: I would date you  
>[] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[X] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status  
><em>James Lopreo dislikes this

**Ashka Storme **Are you bi?

**Lucas Taylor **wtf...no why would you ask that

**Ashka Storme **well this is implying that you want to 'talk' more

**Lucas Taylor **=_= as FRIENDS! Gerard's a cool guy, wish he wasn't so stuck to you  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **I'm glad you think so

**Ashka Storme **Wait, for part 1 or 2?

**Gerard Eckhart **crap, is there a bathroom on this shuttle?

**Ashka Storme **:[ quit dodging the question!

**Lucas Taylor **Feel like I intruded on a best friend fight...  
>4 people agree<p>

* * *

><p>The shuttle was jetting through deeper waters now. The cabin was dark with the only illumination coming from the dashboard. The sidelights on the exterior of the shuttle only shone through a mile forward of water—and so the shapes outside of the viewing zone were jagged and grey and scary. A Huntail passed by and nearly slammed right into James's window.<p>

"What's that shadow?" Sherry asked, pointing her ring-clad fingers at the wall-side windshield where a dark, mountainous structure was in sight, although at this distance it was still the size of a water bottle.

"It's Lilycove, isn't it?" Jun asked, sitting up straight to see over the heads in the front.

Daniel shook his head. "That's a seamount."

The shuttle continued drifting, and a school of little minnow Magikarp swam past, and Daniel swore he saw one golden. Paru was still watching TV on his 'Gear, his face the only one lit up by the blue light in the cabin. James, next to him, peered out the window and saw an old regular sign in the shape of a circle, white edges and navy blue in the middle, with a shark symbol on the front. There was a bite taken out of the side so that the shark didn't have fins at the end of its tail.

"Mr. Daniel, what does that sign mean?" James ask, pointing to it as they passed.

"It's a caution sign for those swimming in pressure suits." Daniel replied. "Did you think I was kidding about the swimming across the ocean thing?"

"So we have to watch out for Sharpedo?" Lexi inquired.

"Time for the rack-spotting binoculars to go into action!" Lucas said, lifting the black binoculars off his chest and pressed onto his blue eyes, and then leant against the window to search for predators. Serena thought it was cute how focused he was on hunting.

"Not necessarily Sharpedo," Daniel said. "Just any pokémon that are territorial and will attack anything foreign."

"Define foreign." Irene said.

"Us in this plastic crap of a shuttle." Ashka muttered.

"Don't insult the shuttle! It's got good mileage and we don't want it to die in the middle of the ocean floor!" cried Mr. Valacio from the dashboard. He whispered to it, "It's alright baby, she didn't mean that, you have the fastest megahertz speed processor a man could ever want..."

"What pokémon should we be on the lookout for?" Lexi asked.

"I hope those beautiful Gorebyss." Imogen sighed, looked out the porthole. Amber shrugged from beside her, uninterested by magenta-scaled fish.

"We need to be on the lookout for Crawdaunt, Whiscash, Gyarados, Walrein," Daniel listed off the top of his head, "...Oh, and Milotic." The teens shivered slightly, with the exception of Rodolfo's ex-campers. The Milotic was huge, heavy, powerful, and breathtaking. Not one attack from any of the camper's pokémon could abrade it, and either of their rangers couldn't lie a styler-ring on it.

Underwater, here in the dark, they were vulnerable.

"Something just went past!" Irene shrieked in fright, pointing past the windshield. "It—it—LURKED!"

"Nice word choice." Ashka deadpanned from the seat behind.

"If you all are so jumpy, I'll activate the cloak." Said Mr. Valacio. He typed in the command, and the entire cabin was bathed in red light. From outside the shuttle, everything contained in it plus its exterior was completely see-through, and the only indication that they were there were the soft tiny bubbles coming from the propellers. The pokémon that passed above it could sense it, but not see it, which frightened them and made them swim faster away.

James blinked under the red light. "Aww man! We're out of gas right?"

"It's to let us know we're invisible." Mr. Valacio said. "Rodolfo, how's the radar?"

Rodolfo sat at the back where more monitors were placed and he was smiling at having a task to do. He turned to the monitor with the grid and began messing with the settings. Several red dots were scattered around, some moving faster than others.

"It's as clear as my pimple-free face!" He said from the back.

"It's not clear then." Daniel muttered with a grin.

"We'll move slow." Mr. Valacio said, starting the propellers again.

Moving under the cloak system stretched their destination time. No danger passed, only small pokémon that didn't even look twice because they couldn't see it. They were coming upon a crevice in the ground, and many of the teens thought something would pop up and grab them. Nothing did.

They were swerving over a chasm now, drifting with enough speed to not lurch downwards to the pit. Hot steam and bubbles spewed out of it, smacking into the bottom of the shuttle and causing them to rise some.

"When will we be out of here?" Jun asked. "We should go faster so we can get to Lilycove in time."

"Yeah, I'm not spotting anything out here but mutant Corsolas. Why are they pink?" Lucas said, still sewed to the porthole.

"There's a red dot coming this way." Rodolfo said.

Daniel looked up. "How fast?"

"Faster than you."

Irene screamed—

Something passed the shuttle—

Mr. Valacio slammed on the brakes, and everyone lurched forward, smacking their heads on the back of seats. A big Crawdaunt now stood in front of them, shiny red shell glowing from the light of the surface a long ways up. It couldn't see them but it sensed something in front of it. It stayed there for a while, its beady eyes burning into the souls of the teens unintentionally.

"No one move," Mr. Valacio whispered through the red strobe light, "The shuttle isn't sound proof."

"Back up!" Daniel whispered.

"I can't! It'll see the bubbles and attack! We have to wait for it."

Daniel looked around the cabin worriedly. Ashka and Gerard were keeping calm and cool, covering their terrified feelings with expressionless faces. Lexi was biting on her nails and Serena kept a stone face. Lucas was in awe, legs shaking, and Jun was impressed and wanted to swim outside to meet it. Paru hadn't even realized there was a Crawdaunt blocking their path and James was trying his best not to burst into flames, metaphorically speaking. Irene just held her stomach worriedly, feeling like she was going to be sea sick by having her dinner almost attack them. Imogen, Amber, and Sherry were trying their best to restrain Nicolas and stop him from shrieking, because he was scared cold and wanted to scream at the top of his lungs and claw at the sides of the shuttle.

"Ow! He bit me!" Amber gasped, snatching her finger away from Nicolas's mouth. Everyone chorused in a _SHHHH!_, but Crawdaunt had heard and its eyes began to narrow. It's claws began to gleam white, bringing light to the sea floor.

"It sees us!" Rodolfo said.

"Everyone hold on!" Mr. Valacio said, moving along the dashboard. He turned off the cloak, took the thrusters and bulleted them up in a ninety-degree angle just as Crawdaunt smashed its claws down.

"It's still chasing us!" Lexi shrieked in dismay as the shuttle leveled out. Crawdaunt was just as fast as the shuttle, and practically just as big.

"We'll have to outswim it!" Mr. Valacio said, reaching for the tiny switches above his head and turning them all over.

"But we're running out of gas! We might not make it to Lilycove!" Daniel said.

"We'll see about that!" Mr. Valacio tapped the dashboard, and the shuttle began to zoom so fast that he had to hold on to the board to not fall over—gravity was pulling at everyone's skins so tightly that it was like the windows were open on a rollercoaster.

"I-i-it-its b-b-b-bee-hind us-s-s-s now!" Rodolfo managed to say,

The breaks slammed again and everyone was tossed out of their seats, the seatbelts snapping off. Groans and tongue clicks chorused around the cabin.

"Let's not...do that again..." Ashka muttered, unable to pull herself from the ground.

"That was fun," Jun said, sounding faint too. "Can we do it again?" He received glares from the others.

The shuttle was on the surface of water now, and Paru looked out the windshield. He could see a really big stadium about a mile away, and even from here it looked impressively massive. It looked to be about five stories high with glass triangular roofing at the sides and shaded green floor-to-ceiling windows on the third floor. The bottom floor had archways leading into the building, but the building itself seemed to be either floating or sitting on a very small island.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing.

James finally managed to get himself off the ground and squinted. "A mirage...probably..."

"But I can see it too." Serena said.

Lexi gasped. "Ohmygosh, is _that_ the stadium? It looks amazing!"

Daniel nodded, stepping up to the windshield. He sighed. "That, troops, is the remains of the once thriving Lilycove city."

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>on **Amber Hendrix's Wall  
><strong>_[] Red: You need to be de-friended  
>[] Pink: You're cute<br>[] Green: You're alright  
>[] Blue: I want ur G'code<br>[X] Yellow: I would date you  
>[] Orange: You've made me smile<br>[] Gray: We should talk more  
>[] Purple: ILY<br>[] Gold: You're important to me  
>[] White: We should chill soon<br>[] Black: You should post this as your status_

**Amber Hendrix **...tbh I don't like you that way

**Lucas Taylor **It's cool with me :D just want u to know that I think you're hot and badass ;)

**Amber Hendrix **Stop typing or I break a few of those thumbs -.-

**Lucas Taylor **It's so frakkin' hard to compliment you ._.  
>Gerard Eckhart, Jun Kirman, Paru, and Nicolas Wolfe strongly agree<p>

* * *

><p>As the remaining tank of gas propelled the shuttle towards Lilycove Stadium, Daniel told the tale of Lilycove.<p>

"It's sad what happens when we humans become careless." He sighed, taking a seat at the edge. "Global warming was no myth back then, almost five hundred years ago. It was summer every day."

Irene cheered.

Daniel shot her down. "No, it wasn't fun. They had to wear three layers of sunscreen every day, and sea levels eventually rose. With Hoenn being surrounded by so much water, a lot of the edges were consumed, so cities like Rustboro and Littleroot had to relocate to higher ground. Cities like Lilycove and Dewford were completely swallowed.

"Buildings, destroyed. Flooded. We tried to make use of them, but it's hard to live underwater when pressure is bursting through the doors. Walls were made flimsy. It was like spraying a french-fry cup with a hose. They didn't hold. Eventually we gave up and piled into cities in the center of Hoenn, like Lavaridge."

"How come the stadium is still standing?" Lexi asked.

"It was at the highest point in Lilycove." Daniel grinned. "It used to be on a mountain that took a full day to hike up. Now the whole city is under it. If we went under, we'd probably still see an old civilization preserved by the sea pokémon. There would still be paved streets, streetlamps, empty trashcans, and a wrecked car or two—a car that couldn't hover, or transform into a submarine."

Sherry gasped. "Did those people live in a _cave_? Who doesn't have a hovercraft!"

"Do we get to see it?" Gerard asked hopefully.

"After the tournament, I'd love to show you." Daniel said. "But right now you all need to focus on training. There are only 40 contestants, so there's a good chance that you'll be pit against someone in this very room."

The others looked around at each other.

"More info about the tournament was posted this morning." Lucas said. "It's a medieval theme. There's a badge system—those with 2 badges are Lords and Ladies, those with 4 are Dukes and Duchesses, those with 6 are Princes and Princesses, and those with all 8 are kings and queens. Those who do not have badges are regular medieval people."

"I'm going to dress as a jester." Paru said.

Lexi smiled, already imagining him in a silly two-tone hat with bells dangling off it. "You'd look so cute, Paru!"

Lucas scowled and looked away. Paru merrily smiled back at her.

"Why thank you, Lady Lexi." He replied, turning to bow in his seat.

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_How are we supposed to dress in medieval era?_

**Gerard Eckhart **There's a shop inside the stadium.  
>3 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **You two are right next to each other, I see no point in putting this as a status -_-

* * *

><p>Everyone entered the grand entrance. It was like walking into a hotel lobby—couches and electronic tabloids scattered about, fancy golden thread rugs, murals of various pokémon, and a center mosaic tile of an old-fashioned ruby red pokéball. The pokémon center station and the check-in desk were adjacent to each other at the corner, and next to them were naturally lit hallways leading to training rooms, hotel rooms, restaurants, everything. To get to the actual stadium they would have to take the elevator up.<p>

"Wow, it's like we've stepped into another era." Imogen marveled. Almost everyone, including staff and pokémon, were dressed in medieval clothing—floor long dresses, glittery suits and leotards and those flat hats with feathers hanging out of it. Sherry latched onto Amber because she was lost, just looking at the place. Jun nodded to what Imogen said. If it weren't for the new-age technology buried into the place, he would've thought he stepped into a time machine and was taken back a few millenniums.

Daniel and Rodolfo followed after with everyone's luggage, mostly Mr. Valacio's, on a hovering hotel cart.

Daniel counted heads again. "Everyone's here, right? Get signed in! We'll meet again at the cafeteria for dinner at 6:30 on the dot!"

"6:35 for mwa, I need to crimp my hair again." Rodolfo said flamboyantly, wreathing his hand through is hair. Daniel looked at him strangely and then moved the cart again.

Ashka looked around the lobby. "Hey, didn't you say you're parents were coming?" She asked Gerard.

He nodded. "They should be here tonight. They're still on the plane with my little brother."

The teens scattered out, going to do their own thing. Lucas and Jun stayed in the lobby and scoured around for people they knew. Jun spotted a silver haired guy with a tight red v-neck, ran at him and jumped onto his back as if it were his dad.

"KAI!" He shrieked. The person turned around—Jun gasped and hopped off, stepping backwards, "Sorry sir! I thought you were someone else."

"I'm over here, Jun." the real Kai said, behind him. Jun sighed in relief when the other man walked away. Kai was dressed in a lavish red cape with white cheetah-spotted fur collar and a white button-up shirt and black slacks underneath.

"KAI! You're a King?" Jun asked.

Kai shook his head. "Nope, a prince. I've only got 6 badges."

"Cool!" Jun said. "Prince Kai! It has a certain ring to it, ya think?"

Kai looked up thoughtfully. "It does sound fitting. I heard from Irene...you're out?" He inspected Jun as he shifted around uneasily. Kai tended to be perceptive, so he saw the sweat and the fraying hair escaping from the ponytail Jun usually kept it in.

"I don't know." Jun finally sighed. In person, he didn't want to let down his best friend. "I don't like the idea of...it."

Kai shrugged. "It's out of my hands. Everything is already in motion."

"But what about my friends?"

"Oh, like that Lucas guy? Freaky blue hair and girly earring? He can be your pet when we return to Marrion." Kai grinned, and it took Jun everything to bite down his lip and not defend his other best friend. "Anyway," Kai said, "I'm going to get training. There's this purple haired chick dressed as a queen and I've seen her kick ass on TV. If I go up against her, there is _no _way in hell I'm losing to a _girl_." He walked away, sending a short goodbye wave.

As Kai walked away, Lucas scurried back over to Jun with a disappointed look on his face.

"Couldn't find anyone?" Jun asked.

"No...and I couldn't find any girls either!" Lucas whined. "Damn you rack-spotting binoculars, YOU FAIL!"

"It looks like Lexi's family has arrived." Jun said, pointing to the entrance. A mass horde of similarly blonde people and one brunette walked in the front doors, and Lexi came and jumped onto them as if she were crowd surfing. Lucas couldn't watch—it was just too cute watching her reunite with her family. It also felt awkward, like it was a whole new side to her that he's never seen before and probably never will. It made him feel guilty for the dirty thoughts he's had of her.

Lucas looked around again as more people poured into the lobby. He caught sight of a tall, spiky black-haired guy with a girl skipping and arm-in-arm coming near. He groaned and nudged Jun, pointed at the guy.

Jun gasped. "WHOA! Is that Brett?"

"My cousin? Yeah." Lucas nodded. "I love him and all but...he tends to be a jackass."

"He makes you look like a saint." Jun agreed. "Who's the girl with him? New girlfriend?"

"The two have known each other since, like, forever, so I wouldn't call her new." Lucas grinned. His grin faded when Brett's girlfriend saw them, shook Brett's arm wildly, and pointed them out. Brett turned and locked his brown eyes with Lucas's and smirked. He waved and came over.

"Quick! Think of something to say when they get here!" Jun cried hysterically. Lucas shot him a look that said 'not helping!'.

"Too late, we're here." Lucas's cousin and his girlfriend approached. "Hey, Lucas. Jun."

"He remembers my name!" Jun shrieked, hiding behind Lucas.

"I do too! HI JUN!" said the bright brown-haired girl on Brett's arm.

"Hello..." Jun trailed off, cursing that he forgot her name.

"Are you and Kari entering the tournament?" Lucas asked Brett. He hoped so, because he so desperately wanted to prove that he and his pokémon had been growing. Brett was a mentor to him, always coaching on technique and skill, and of course self-promoting himself.

"Yeah." Brett nodded, smiling at Kari, although his emo-ish expressions made his smile look awkward and forced. "I've got _seven _badges so I get to be a king. _King _Brett." He smirked.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, congrats congrats. If we're against each other, I won't hold back!"

Brett shrugged. "Oh, so the other times you lost against me you were holding back?"

Lucas grimaced. Every loss he has speaks volumes to him, sits in his stomach and comes back to haunt him. Always getting shot down by Lexi. Losing pokémon battles to Jun. ALWAYS losing pokémon battles to Brett. For once, he wanted to feel good and actually win against one of them.

"Hey Lucas!" Lexi came over, her family leaving for their hotel rooms behind her. She noticed the new people and grinned brightly. Her happiness from seeing her family again was so bright that it blinded Brett and disgusted him.

"Who's this?" Brett asked rather coldly. Lexi's smile fell.

"This is Lexi, my uhh..." Lucas paused. He wasn't sure what they were really.

"Girlfriend?" Kari suggested, eyes wide and surprised. "AWW! Lucas gotsa girlfriend!" She squealed and flew away from Brett's arm, coming over to hug Lexi despite only knowing her for three seconds. Nevertheless Lexi returned the hug from the stranger.

"Ha, girlfriend..." Lexi smiled bashfully. She tousled Lucas's hair to his dismay, like a little brother. "He's a good friend."

"Your girlfriend's pretty cool, Lucas." Brett laughed. His laugh was dark and sarcastic. "Where'd you get her? Birthday present?"

"Hey!" Lexi said, offended.

Brett ignored her and looped his arm back in Kari's. "We're going to leave to check out the stadium. Bye." He and his girlfriend turned around in unison, re-looped arms and began walking away. Brett turned his head around and smirked at Lucas, and Kari turned her head and waved very-enthusiastically goodbye to them.

Lexi felt tired meeting all these new people. "Who was that, Lucas?"

"My cousin."

"He makes you seem like an..."

"Angel?" Jun suggested. Lexi nodded, grinning. The three started walking again, Lucas behind them walking slowly with his head hung low. He felt drained of his energy after that confrontation with Brett. He doesn't know how he'll be able to battle tomorrow for the preliminary round of the tournament.

Serena was sitting on a couch nearby and watched from behind her eBook. She watched the story unfold in such a mess that she just wanted to step in and stop it all. She couldn't believe the anger she felt when she saw Brett insulting Lucas. She wanted to smack that smirk off with some kind of hybrid ice-punch.

She shook her head and looked down at her shoes. _...Why should I care about what happens with Lucas? _She looked back up to where she saw her friends disappearing down the hall, her eyes glued to the spikey blue hair. She sighed. _I don't know...I just...do._

* * *

><p><strong>MERRY CHRISTMAS! ...13 DAYS EARLY! WOO! For an early Christmas present just in case I don't make it by the holidays, please enjoy the pictures of Zane and Paru :D they can be found on my profile.<strong>

**The chapter was a little slow in writing, but just in the beginning. Once we got to Lilycove I was finally on a role again. It was fun putting those shipping moments :D Hooray! Next chapter we will have battles, battles, shipping, battles, more things that are related to plot and if we're lucky, a Christmas picture! Woo! I will be choosing battles by putting names in a hat and pulling them. So yes, right now, even I don't know whose against who. All I know is that I'm having Sherry against Brett's girlfriend :P**

**Thanks for reading!**

**(~Lunary Canary/Alternate Lopunnu)**


	23. Round One

**Chapter Twenty-Two - Round One  
><strong>_Day 14, Sunday morning around the bottom floors of Lilycove Stadium_

The next morning, James went for a stroll around the stadium with his Drilbur. He walked with a semi-cocky air, wearing his high dark purple collar popped and swishing his silver cape whenever he was to make a dramatic turn. It was amazing the confidence he felt while wearing black leotard tights and curl-toed loafers. The tournament was beginning swiftly after lunch, and without the scheduled battles being announced he didn't feel one bit nervous. For all he knew, he'd be facing a noob. So now he just strolled around in his fancy garb, feeling as cool as an ice type.

He passed through archway corridors and saw two people battling in the middle of the courtyard, one with a Seismitoad and the other with a Drifloon. He was familiar with the young woman with the Seismitoad, because everyone was making bets that she'd win the tournament like _that_. James scoffed at the idea that a girl like her could possibly own up to the competition here. She looked just about the same age as he, and she wore her Queen getup—red beanie with jewels embedded into it, red sparkling dress, and pink wraparound veil.

James shook his head. _The game's barely begun. She won't last the preliminary round. _As he walked away, Seismitoad had leapt for Drifloon and blasted it into the sky with Hydro Pump. He missed the loud _smack _sound Drifloon made when it came in contact with the nearest wall.

He strolled around some more, his Drilbur riding on one of his legs now. He saw more people with family and friends and felt isolated and left out. His own parents couldn't make the tournament, with their vigorous studies and all. They promised they would watch him from the telecast, but he doubted they would have the patience to wait for his battle.

He arrived at the other end of the stadium where more outdoor practice areas were planted on the mountainous terrain, so many of the areas were various sizes and at various levels. He spotted Serena three levels down and followed the path to her. He had to scrutinize her with a perplexed expression. Since when did _she _wear ribbons and _pink_? Well, at least the ribbons weren't pink. Then he'd think this was some alternate-world version of Serena.

Serena only gave him a glance to acknowledge his presence and then resumed training her blank-expression Natu. "Teleport! There!" She pointed in a random direction. Natu's reaction time was slow and only disappeared in a flash of sparkles three seconds later, ending up only a foot away from where she previously was. Serena groaned. "The objective is to go _farther_, Natu."

"Maybe she's tired." James suggested. "Give Natu a break."

Serena grimaced at the idea of time being wasted on rest—precious seconds were waning away as noon inched near. "You're right." She sighed. "Take a break in your pokéball, Natu." She held out the pokéball and red light consumed the green bird who still didn't look like it gave a damn.

"Are your parental units coming to watch you today?" He asks and Serena turns away from the spot Natu once was.

She shakes her head. "Nope, the units didn't have enough money for a plane ride. I persuaded my best friend to come, though."

James's eyebrows knitted together. "Lexi? She's already here."

She laughed. "Lexi isn't my best friend."

"Really? Who is?"

"Her name is Sydney." Serena answered, looking over to the wide doors of the stadium in case the person she was speaking of appeared miraculously. "She has a pretty odd style, dying her hair four different colors at once, so you'd know it's her in an instant."

"I've seen people with odder colored hair." James muttered, listing the names in his head. "Irene, Lucas, Nicolas, Imogen, Amber, and a few other people I see around here..."

"Are you nervous?" She asks softer. He stepped closer to hear her better.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I'll need to see who I'm up against."

She nodded in understanding. Currently, she didn't know what to feel. She still felt like she was in vacation-time, just loafing. The tournament seemed so far away, and they were right under the roof of where it's taking place.

"Do you know who else is coming for our group?" James asked hopefully. He usually didn't like meeting new people. Seclusion was the easiest way to avoid embarrassment. Yet, with his fancy sparkly duds, he wanted to make a strong impression on whoever could be his future partner in crime.

"Umm..." Serena looked up in thought. "I think I saw Gerard with his family this morning...but that's it. I mean, there's Lexi's clan of units, and Lucas's cousin. I think that's it."

James deflated mentally. No one who would stay in his future. "A shame, we're all basically facing this tournament alone."

"Scared?" Serena asked with a shy smile. She didn't see why. She saw him as a potentially strong individual with smart pokémon to back him up. He saw himself as the opposite—a shrivelly weak nerd with strategic plans that are usually never carried out as planned.

He shook his head. "Not fully prepared."

The two simultaneously looked down at their 'Gears that beeped at a freshly posted status on Facebook.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_The lineup is announced to be posted soon. Everyone needs to go to the lobby where the big screens are to see who's against who  
><em>8 people like this

**Lexi Redstone **Thanks for the alert

**Amber Hendrix **DON'T come with your whole Brady bunch fam, got it? There's not enough room in this lobby for all yalls!

**Lexi Redstone **There aren't that many of us -_-

**Amber Hendrix **When you refer to all of you in a collective noun, then YES.

**Jun Kirman **The lineup is also going to be on the website, but it's on a countdown right now.

**Paru **I don't want to participate in this stupid tournament anymore.

**Lexi Redstone **Don't give up! I believe in you!

**Lucas Taylor **You also believe in that true love crap

**Lexi Redstone **Oh, so we're back to that are we?  
>2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel wrangled his campers into a single lounge area in the corner of the lobby. Rodolfo merrily watched in amusement while sipping on a straw connected to two bottles attached to the side of his souvenir "Lilycove Ruins" cap. Many of the campers were reluctant to sit down because the TVs were placed high and right now the only thing scrolling on the screens were IDs of the participants.<p>

"Aww man, they used the picture with my braces." Sherry scoffed in disgust as her geeky-looking picture rose up the screen, looking much smarter and nicer than how she was portrayed now. James was sitting and thought she looked cuter that way.

Jun's eyes scanned the next row of people on the screen. His eyes widened when he recognized a dark skinned blonde-haired fellow with a pokéball shape shaved out of his scalp. He tapped Lucas and pointed feverishly.

"_He's _here too? This is bullcrap!" Lucas said.

"Who?" Lexi asked.

"Elliot." Jun sighed. "He's a real...mean guy. He kicked me!"

Lexi gasped.

"You were swimming." Lucas deadpanned. "But he also sabotaged James during the Pokéathlon! He should be banned from participating!"

James stared up at the screen as Elliot's picture drifted off. He grimaced inside. Why did the guy have to return? Elliot could literally tear him limb from limb and probably get away with it. He was just that suave of a guy that no one believed he could do anything bad, even though he was doing it right in front of their eyes.

"Heeere commmesss the liiinnneee upppp!" Irene shrieked dramatically, rising to her tiptoes. All the pictures arranged onto the screen from the bottom, now smaller in comparison to previously. The line brackets shined onto the screen and all the pictures turned around to look like a card, and the cards shuffled and sprawled out under the lines.

One by one, each picture over turned.

Everyone stared at their opponent on the screen. This was it, this was the time to prove themselves. This was who they had to beat. For most of them, they were facing strangers.

James, he was pit against Lexi. He looked over to her nervously, but her face remained stoic and calm unlike him.

Serena was against Paru. Paru just groaned and fell back onto the couch to mope.

Sherry was against Kari, Lucas's cousin Brett's girlfriend. Sherry did her research and knew immediately that she was against another coordinator. She smirked. Things would get interesting.

Ashka was against that stranger with dark purple hair and black shaded glasses who was battling in the courtyard with her Seismitoad earlier. The title said Queen, but that didn't intimidate Ashka. She knew she could win if she tried hard enough.

Amber and Imogen turned to Nicolas between them. He was staring widely up at the TV. He was placed against Elliot. Elliot, with strong muscles and pokémon. Elliot, who kicked Jun in the spine and pushed James to an almost 10-foot fall. Elliot, who played dirty and didn't regret it. Elliot, who would eat Nicolas alive.

Amber, in spite of moments where she was rash and destructive, did a kindness by placing her fake-fingernailed hand on Nicolas's shoulder. "Want me to beat him up for you?"

"You don't have to face him alone." Imogen whispered, nudging him gently with her elbow.

Nicolas shook his lavender hair fiercely and looked down at his shoes. He knew what Elliot had done in the past and what he was capable of. "I don't need your help." He said softly. The two females shrugged and backed away from him, allowing him to simmer in strategy. James watched from the couch with envy. He wished someone would stick to his side like that. No one was coming to sit next to him and giving him a pep talk on beating Lexi. He didn't want to battle her. Whatever the outcome, he'd still lose in one perspective or another.

Meanwhile Lucas looked up to the screen where Brett's picture was. _Watch out, Brett. _He thought. _We're going to meet up on that stage sometime. It's inevitable._

The battle schedules were listed on the screen. Sherry and Kari were first.

* * *

><p>Megan scrolled down the Lilycove Tournament website as she neared the office that she and Ross were using to analyze the things they witnessed last night. She was impressed by who was going to be against who. She was guilty that she wasn't there, cheering in person, but the battles would always be online in a lesser quality and she could always watch it there.<p>

She entered the office, clipping her Styler to her belt. Ross was bent over the computer and slowly typing in commands. She was having difficulty, her dark green leather gloves squeaking against the pristine glass.

"Cannot...work...damn thing..." Ross muttered, rubbing her face broodingly. "Megan, do you know how to work this thing?"

"I'm probably no better at using a monitor than you are." Megan joked, taking over. Ross moved aside quickly so that they didn't brush against each other. Megan fumbled with the controls and managed to sync the robotic camera that had followed them last night to the computer. The pictures loaded quickly and Megan blew it up on the projector.

The first picture was of the two of them maneuvering through the vines past the outskirts of Fortree city. Megan was impressed with how well Ross had kept up. Despite being bruised and bony she actually did have strength somewhere in those invisible muscles. Joltik showed up in a few shots, using string shot to swing from tree to tree.

"Which pictures are we looking for?" She asked Ross, backing a step away from the monitor. She had long noticed the strange way Ross avoided any physical contact with anyone and decided not to say anything. A bar of light ran through the monitor for a moment to disintegrate any pesky fingerprints.

"Spacecrafts, the spacecrafts..." Ross sighed. She was compassionate on the subject, and she was offended that Megan could forget such a thing. Ross swept her finger across the dark images and converted some to negative mode to see the night sky better. "Stars do not blink." She said, comparing two pictures with the same star. The star was the color of red instead of blue in the second picture.

"It could be one of our own crafts." Megan said.

"That is what everyone believes." Ross grumbled. She flipped through more pictures. They didn't manage to capture any foreign spacecrafts—all the ones they had seen last night were all registered and had licenses on the bumpers. She whispered mostly to herself, "We might need to go into space to solve this thing."

"I don't think I can go up there." Megan said hesitantly. The idea of space travel was beyond her. Space travel wasn't a new idea either—Earth colonies, voyages, and all that had been a trending thing centuries ago but space travel was probably one of her few fears. She didn't like the dark. She wanted Daniel to hold her whenever she couldn't see the perimeter. She didn't like knowing what was lurking behind the trees.

"But we have to solve this once and for all." Ross said gently. She didn't want to start an argument, but that was where this was heading.

Megan shook her head. "I don't think there's anything to solve. The only spacecrafts that you're thinking about were made by teenagers trying to test out their own innovations. I don't see why you're so set on this alien idea."

Ross looked to the side. She knew Megan would never believe her. "I have seen things." She whispered. She slowly went through the computer again. "Let us get some space footage from the satellites since you are so against going up there in person."

Megan sighed of relief and let Ross take the reins. She took the pictures from the robot and scrolled through them on her styler.

_Oh hey, _she thought. _I don't remember seeing that blue streak in the sky last night..._

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Any bets on whose going to win battle 1?  
><em>3 people like this, Sherry Brogan dislikes this

**Serena Valliya **Kari

**Gerard Eckhart **kari

**Paru **red head chick  
>Sherry Brogan likes this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **me ;)

**Jun Kirman **idk...

**Lexi Redstone **Does it matter?

**James Lopreo **Probably sherry  
>Sherry Brogan like this<p>

**James Lopreo **I was LIKED! :O

**Lucas Taylor **wtf Sherry you started another whirlwind -_-

**Irene Connor **I say tie :P

**Kaisei Arcan **Doesn't matter to me, I'm beating either of them in the tourney ;o  
>2 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>The actual arena was bigger in the seats that ran along the circumference of the battlefield than the actual battlefield. The seats sloped up to monstrous heights, all filled to the brim with people from all over the region, and possibly, the whole world. The tournament wasn't famous as League tournaments would, but the turnout was still impressive. The stage for the field was completely clear without lines at the moment with red and blue wires running under it to change the terrain. The host teleported on stage at the middle, face blown up on flat screens around the stadium.<p>

The host was Aika, the famous woman who also hosts pokémon contests. She was dressed as a queen herself with the long flowing white dress and frosty multicolored hair curled to an afro. "_WELCOME to the semi-annual two-thousandth and forty-second Lilycove Tournament! My name is Aika and I will be your host for the next few days! We have a total of 40 contestants who will battle against each other, 1-on-1, for a total of 8 minutes or less each! The winner of the tournament gets a heaping load of prize money and a free round-trip in space to the Unovan colony on Quadros! Let's begin!"_ Aika was teleported off stage, short-range backstage to where Sherry and Kari were waiting.

"Good luck." Kari grinned.

Sherry pouted. "Don't give me that wishy-washy crap!" The two stepped onto separate teleport pads, and the next second, turned into dust and appeared on either sides of the clear battlefield.

The robotic judge's voice blared out from the speakers. "This is a 1-on-1 battle between Madame Kari Damon of Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh and Exotic Dancer Sherry Brogan of Nimbasa City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing."

The stage speckled with blue and red lights before it gave a sort of waning-sound and the whole stage became a rocky landscape with sharp stalagmites jutting from the ground. The field lines whitened on top of the landscape, boxing in the contestants.

"Begin!" said the robot.

"Shedinja let's go!" Sherry tossed the pokéball up. A white light snaked out of the opened capsule, forming into the angelic cream bug pokémon.

"Fraxure your turn!" Kari cried as she threw up the blue pokéball. A green dragon with tusks at the sides of its mouth appeared across the field. Kari immediately dove in for an attack. "Tornado Dragon Rage!" Fraxure braced its arms as a dark blue aura surrounded its jaw.

_This is what I hate about coordinators, _Sherry thought, _They always have fancy tactic moves that others have to figure out on their own. Well she's not alone. _An indigo essence of a dragon shot out of Fraxure's mouth, shooting straight for Shedinja—but it went around, and around, coiling. Sherry immediately knew what Kari was trying to do. She countered with, "Shedinja use Bug Buzz!"

Shedinja's wings, with every beat, created yellow waves that rocketed outwards. With the incredibly fast pace of the beats, the waves erupted out faster than the crashing of two cymbals. The waves sliced through Dragon Rage, and the particles of glimmer rained and highlighted Sherry's smirk.

Kari grimaced and Sherry just smirked wider. Oh, she hadn't been expecting that. She wouldn't be expecting the next move either. "Now Shedinja, Sand Attack!" Shedinja zipped down to the ground a few feet away from Fraxure and began clawing through the rocky terrain, upturning heaps of dust that got into Fraxure's eyes. Closing them didn't help, either.

"It's close! Use Dragon Claw and jam it into the ground!" Kari yelled. Fraxure rubbed one of its eyes and barreled forward, the other hand with claws poised to strike.

"Quick! Into the ground!" Sherry retaliated. "Shadow Sneak!" Shedinja dove into its shadow, disappearing from sight. When Fraxure arrived in its previous spot, it had to rub its eyes again because the sand was making it really hard to see. "Now!" Sherry said. Shedinja jumped out of the ground right from under Fraxure's feet, tossing it into the side of a stalagmite.

"That was clever." Kari nodded. Sherry couldn't hear her, but the compliment would've been greatly appreciated, coming from her. "Fraxure use Dragon Claw!" Fraxure flexed its arms, snapped them back together and readied the claws that were beginning to shimmer. It ran towards Shedinja who hovered in the air.

"Stop it was Bug Buzz!" Sherry said. The bug waves radiated through the air again, making it extremely hard for Fraxure to come closer without getting its head boggled around. The closer it got, the louder the sound got, and it was a frequency commonly associated with broken glass and melted brain.

"Keep going! You can do it!" Kari cheered. Fraxure grimaced and rammed forward, pushing through the force as if it were a positive magnet trying to touch another positive magnet. With much effort on its part, it wrenched up its arm and leapt forward, swinging its claw—

Dragon Claw swatted into Shedinja. It weighed less than a paper mâché piñata and crashed right onto the rocky terrain, dust settling up from the impact. The field sensed no movement for the next few seconds and the scanning red light enveloped the field.

"Shedinja is unable to battle. Kari Damon is the winner." The robot said. A spotlight shone on Kari and her pokémon.

Sherry gawked with envy and some jealousy. She was more impressed than she was bitter. She learned a lot from this battle. She and Kari were teleported off the field and back into the room from before.

"Thanks for the battle." Kari said, turning to face her.

Sherry stared up at her. Kari was older and smarter and prettier, and she found herself wanting to be just like her. Not in a stalker sense, but an idol sense. "N-no," she started, brushing her red hair. "Th—thank _you _for the battle. I learned a lot."

Kari smiled. As she walked away she said, "You could go really far as a coordinator. You should stick to it."

Sherry stared back with a lopsided smile. Seems like she wasn't the only one who did their "research".

She had never told Kari she was a coordinator in the first place, after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Damn __**Sherry **__sorry about the loss, I should've warned you about her  
><em>Sherry Brogan likes this

**Sherry Brogan **It's okay, really ;) I like her. Is she bi?

**Lucas Taylor **-_- how the hell would I know that

**Sherry Brogan **She's dating your cousin isn't she?

**Lucas Taylor **What, are you going to try to weasel your way between them?

**Jun Kirman **Don't break up the beautiful couple T.T  
>2 people like this<p>

**Ashka Storme **What would you know about beautiful? You and **Irene **shared floss once.

**Irene Connor **does EVERYONE know about that?  
>8 people say yes<p>

**James Lopreo **Yeah, there was a picture up and everything

**Jun Kirman **It wasn't floss. It was neon wrangling rope -.-

**Lucas Taylor **o.X even more disgusting

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_I'm up in 5  
><em>Gerard Eckhart and Lexi Redstone like this

**Gerard Eckhart **good luck :)  
>Ashka Storme likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **You'll do awesome! :D

**Amber Hendrix **Crash and burn

**Ashka Storme **...

**Imogen Yale **Alright, that was uncalled for. IN THE CORNER.

**Amber Hendrix **but

**Imogen Yale **MARCH :[

**Amber Hendrix ***crawls off to a corner*  
>Ashka Storme likes this<p>

* * *

><p>Ashka waited at the teleport station for her opponent. She was supposed to be battling this very second but the person was running late, apparently. Aika told her that she would win from automatic forfeit if her opponent didn't show up soon. Eventually, she heard the loud clatter of flats on the tile and saw a spot of red coming down the stairwell.<p>

"I'm here! I'm sorry! I'm here!" apologized a female voice, half panting as she made her way near Ashka. She was short with dark purple hair, wearing mostly red Queen garb and wide black shades that seemed to be half-computer. The young girl looked up at Ashka and grinned wildly, mostly due to the run she just did. "Good luck out there!" She huffed, half leaning on her legs.

"Uh...you too." Ashka said, forcing herself to smile at the stranger. The stranger's glasses must've been screens, because things were popping up on the inside and Ashka could see it through the lens. "What's going on with your glasses?" She asked.

The stranger said, "Oh, they're analyzing you. I'm sorry, I didn't get permission! Can I look you up on the web?" She said in a fast slur. Ashka just nodded slowly. The stranger cheered and continued to read whatever was coming up on the screen, grey eyes darting back and forth, and sometimes she muttered out loud what she was reading.

Aika came and made them step onto the teleportation pads. After a flash of white light, Ashka found herself on the blank battlefield surrounded by the mass of spectators and video cameras carried by Magnemites. Her opponent was across the field, still reading off the glasses. Ashka was nervous. What if the web told her everything—her pokémon, and her battle strategy? Would the glasses provide information like that? She wished her 'Gear would.

_How good could a person with 7 or 8 badges be? _thought Ashka. She herself was a just a Lady with 2 badges, the one from Lavaridge and the one from Fortree. She could've gotten more if she had applied herself. Dressed in the Lady role she wore a loose, v-neck mint green dress and a white undershirt with black sandals. She was reluctant to show any leg but it was just a costume, and there was no point in making a fit over that.

The robotic judge started after Aika's monologue. "This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lady Ashka Storme of White Forest, Unova and Queen Kay Rimwing of Sunyshore City, Sinnoh. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The battle lines became solid on the glass, and the glass was covered with a bright grassy terrain with sand scatter around the edges. "Begin!"

Kay went first, to Ashka's relief. Kay chucked a blue striped pokéball into the air. "Pepper, Time in!" she shrieked. A large white and blue pelican landed on the grass, and used its large hand-wings to clap in joy.

_A Pelipper, _Ashka smiled. _Simple. _"Dragonite battle stage!" She threw up the pokéball, caught it expertly as it came crashing down. Her newly evolved Dragonite landed on the ground, its wings still stationary because it hadn't mastered flight. Ashka looked over to Kay whose glasses were running rampant. She must've been scanning Dragonite, all of its stats and moves. Ashka now saw the disadvantage she put herself in by allowing Kay to scan her.

"Pepper, up in the air and use Twister!" Kay said, her voice shrill against the loud cheering from the audience. Pelipper hopped into the air, seeming like an expert airplane instead of Dragonite who could barely hold itself up there. Pelipper flapped its wings in front of it heavily, whipping up a storm.

"Dragonite dodge it!" Ashka said. That was her plan first; dodge everything that came her way and then attack like a steam train. Dragonite glided off to the side as Twister sliced through the grass and left a streak of brown dirt.

"Air Slash!" Kay commanded. "It's bottom-heavy! Strike it where it can't go!"

"Dodge it again!" Ashka said. "And you're not bottom-heavy! Don't listen to her!"

An orb of wind formed in Pelipper's wing. He slammed it down—Dragonite pulled itself out of the way, but it was slow so the back of its tail was caught, and Dragonite ended up tripping on its feet.

"Dragonite use Thunder!" Ashka said, Pelipper still flapping directly above. Dragonite did a motion that looked like it was trying to squeeze a ball between its hands—the sky began to darken, and loud claps of thunder crackled above.

"Pepper get out of there!" Kay shouted, her glasses still calculating. But no amount of calculations could save her from this.

A bright streak of lightening crashed down—

Slicing through the tip of Pelipper's wing. Pelipper fell out of the sky, landing roughly on the grass. Ashka sighed in relief, hoping it was over—the big bird merrily got back up, but it was obvious to the trainers that its right wing was out of commission.

Kay sighed in relief. "Alright! Pepper use Water Pulse!" Pelipper opened its mouth, blue energy gathering in the form of an orb—

"Use Dragon Rush! Go in a zigzag!" Ashka commanded. Dragonite made a running start, going left and then making a sharp turn right. A purple-ish aura enveloped it like flames. Pelipper turned left and right, trying to keep up with Dragonite.

Kay focused her eyes on Dragonite, still zigzagging on the screen. The glasses came up with a prediction to where it would be in the next few seconds. "Pepper, right there! Release it!" She said, pointing to the right. Her Pelipper was hesitant to shoot at an empty spot but did so—the blue spherical orb shot forward with a bursting sound—

"Dragonite watch out!" Ashka shrieked. Dragonite couldn't hear and ended up running right into Water Pulse in the nose—the orb exploded, drenching it and making it lose focus on Dragon Rage. Dragonite shook its head, shaking out the water.

"Pepper, now use Twister!" Kay said. Pelipper began flapping its wings—

_This isn't going well, _Ashka thought, looking at the scoreboard for the time left. _We only have 3 minutes! _"Dragonite, dodge it! Use Fly!" Dragonite nodded. It struggled, trying to lift its wings again. Twister lifted its feet—before it could try to tame itself in the whirl of wind, it was yanked left and right. It felt like it was being choked with a handkerchief—it attempted to reorient itself, only to get chucked out of the twister from the top—

"_Will Dragonite catch itself!" _Aika's narration swept through the field.

Dragonite couldn't catch itself and slammed onto the ground, hard. It couldn't get up at all.

"Dragonite is unable to battle." Said the robotic judge. "Kay Rimwing is the winner."

Ashka felt devastated. She couldn't believe she was beaten so quickly. Her dreams of climbing the ladder of the tournament had just been wiped out completely. She returned Dragonite just as Kay returned her Pelipper. Before either could say anymore, light overwhelmed their vision until they were facing each other once more at the teleportation pads.

Ashka walked away, ignoring the thumbs up Kay had sent her for trying her best.

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_Good luck with the rest of the tournament, guys. Good luck when you face Kay.  
><em>4 people like this

**Gerard Eckhart **You okay? :l

**Ashka Storme **I guess...I'm just a little mad that I lost so fast

**Kaisei Arcan **Told you she wouldn't be easy to beat

**Ashka Storme **You didn't tell me that.

**Kaisei Arcan **Oh. Well I told Jun and Lucas

**Jun Kirman **I'm up next! :D

**Kaisei Arcan **You better win, then. Represent ;P  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>The next few battles in the tournament went by effortlessly. Jun did a one-hit KO with his Wailord, Kai wiped the floor with his Gurdurr, and Irene came on top with her Murkrow. Amber proved to be a ruthless trainer as she was a person, defeating her opponent's Ledian with her Ariados in less than a minute. Imogen managed to pull through as well with her Cottonee, and now it was Nicolas's turn on that stage.<p>

Imogen and Amber waited with him backstage to be sure that Elliot didn't do anything before they were teleported on stage. Nicolas was quiet as usual, and he stood still and watched his shoes. He was appreciative of his friends, but he still wished one of them would see him as more than a little brother.

"Who are you going to use in the battle?" Imogen asked kindly, tossing away the silence.

Nicolas shrugged. "I don't know...maybe...Marshtomp?" He looked over to Amber for approval. She said nothing and pointed her eyes at the stairwell where Elliot was coming down. Except, he brought a friend, as Nicolas did. He brought Kay.

It continued to be silent as Elliot and his lady friend lined up next to the teleportation pad. Amber glared daggers at Elliot while Elliot himself just looked unimpressed at Nicolas. Nicolas looked like a sniffly, weak kid that could be beaten in less than a second. The battle would be nothing more than a warm up to him.

Kay nudged Elliot to speak.

Elliot groaned. "Hello." His Orrean accent was tough here, even for one word. "I am Elliot. You are?"

"...N—Nicolas..." stuttered the lavender haired one. Kay looked at him sympathetically.

"Have a fair fight, you two." She said gently. Elliot just scoffed.

"It will be easy." He said.

"You're rude." Imogen muttered.

"So?" He bit back.

Amber's anger was bubbling. "So back off!" She yelled, eyes blazing in an instant. "We know what you did to that Jun guy, and James too! So don't think you can pull off that crap with Nicolas here!"

Kay looked frightened and suspicious. "What are they talking about, Elliot?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I have many methods to win, and they are not agreeing with my strategy."

"You cheated!" Amber yelled. "You kicked Jun and pushed James off a ladder! You think that's strategy? That's what I do to my dinner before I kill it!" Nicolas and Elliot disappeared from a flash of light as the teleportation pads transferred them up to the stage. The anger still lingered in Amber's eyes as she glared at the spot Elliot once was.

"Did he really do all that?" Kay asked hesitantly, pointing to Elliot's spot.

Imogen nodded slowly. "And he never said sorry."

The two males were now on the battlefield, ignoring Aika's lengthy introduction to them both. Finally, the robotic judge started things off. "This is a 1-on-1 battle between Sir Nicolas Wolfe of Driftveil City, Unova and Duke Elliot Jildred of Pyrite Town, Orre. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The field sunk downwards like an elevator. Water quickly filled to the brim, and a few platforms in the shape of flat red pokéballs rose to the surface. "Begin."

Nicolas flinched from the loud beep that signaled the start. Elliot thrust a pokéball into the air, and a Sawk formed from the light that hit one of the drifting floaties. Nicolas fumbled with the tiny pokéball from out of his pocket and expanded it. With a meek toss he mumbled, "If... If I must fight... then I'll... go with you, Marshtomp..." A kid-sized frog that stood on its hind legs formed in the water and looked around at the crowd in awe.

"Double Kick!" Elliot yelled. "Show no mercy!"

Nicolas watched nervously as Sawk leapt forward, from platform to platform, until it reached Marshtomp. He was too scared to command a move. Sawk heaved Marshtomp out of the water by the head fin and kicked it once, up, and kicked it a second time in the stomach, back into the water. Marshtomp cried out, and it just made Nicolas more and more scared.

"Come on Nicolas! Fight!" Daniel yelled from the bottom bleachers, but even then, he knew he couldn't be heard. Rodolfo was sitting down while everyone else was standing. He didn't understand why everyone was so hyped and excited.

"Marshtomp—use—uh..." Nicolas paused.

"Sawk use Low Sweep!" Elliot said as Marshtomp crawled onto one of the platforms, feeling sore. Sawk vigorously swam to the platform Marshtomp was on, climbed aboard, and use his leg to kick it back into the water. He knew Elliot wasn't satisfied though—that kick wasn't a KO kick, so it wasn't good enough.

Marshtomp fought its way back up to the surface and looked helplessly over to its trainer that still hadn't called a command.

"I—I'm trying, Marshtomp!" Nicolas cried. "I'm sorry! I promised I'd be strong!"

"Ha!" Elliot's laugh was loud and rude. "You are _weak_! Nothing but weak!"

Nicolas whimpered. If he knew how much Imogen was holding back Amber who was seething to get her claws on Elliot, he could've had the courage to fight back. "M—Marshtomp, try a...a Take Down!" Marshtomp looked visibly relieved to be on offense now. It hurdled out of the water, beginning to gleam golden—

"Double Kick! Time it!" Elliot yelled. Sawk prepared itself as Marshtomp neared—once in range, Sawk kicked forward, one foot after another, nailing Marshtomp in the stomach and ultimately thwarting Take Down. Marshtomp cried in pain as it landed into the water again.

Nicolas just hated seeing Marshtomp continually getting kicked and thrown in the water like that, again and again for the eleventeenth time. He wanted a fair fight. Every time he tried to call out something, Elliot was faster and louder and Sawk responded too perfectly.

"Marshtomp use—"

"Sawk!" Elliot started,

"No!" Nicolas cried out. "Marshtomp use Muddy Water! Please!"

"Hey! I was talking here!" Elliot yelled. But the message had been received, and Marshtomp swamp down to the bottom of the pool—things began to materialize—litter, logs, dirt—the pool water became a sickly dark green, and it towered upwards in a wave—Sawk gasped—there was nowhere to dodge!

The wave came crashing down, and Sawk was bombarded with dirty water and sharp branches and a whole bunch of icky crap. Once it was back at the surface, it didn't move anymore and the scanner caught it.

"Sawk is unable to battle. Nicolas Wolfe is the winner." The judgebot announced.

Elliot stomped on the ground. "Dammit." He muttered, returning Sawk.

Marshtomp swam to its trainer and received the tight hug. "You did so good," Nicolas whispered, unfazed by the gross smell Marshtomp emitted from the dirty water. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Maaaarsh." Marshtomp replied, grinning appreciatively.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Dammmmn boy, you beat Elliot bad  
><em>5 people like this

**Nicolas Wolfe **thanx...

**James Lopreo **Well, someone had to do it. I'm glad it was you

**Amber Hendrix **he's a punk -_- he thinks he's so hot, he lost to Nicolas

**Nicolas Wolfe **...is that good?

**Imogen Yale **We're so proud of you :)

**Lucas Taylor **Is it true Elliot has a gf? That's insane

**Lexi Redstone **Anyone can find love  
>3 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **I guess, kind of shocking for that jackass tho

**Jun Kirman **Who is it?

**Lucas Taylor **purple queeny thang

**Kaisei Arcan **oh my god, whyyy O_O  
>2 people agree<p>

* * *

><p>After Nicolas's battle, Gerard and Lucas both had victories of their own and then there was a short intermission that lasted until 2pm. Serena and Paru were seated next to each other during intermission and were ushered towards the underground prep stage by Lexi and Jun. The two were silent to each other and hardly met eyes. With how they spoke on Facebook, it seemed like any time they shared a conversation it instantly turned into an argument.<p>

While the teleportation pads were being rebooted, Lexi attempted to psyche up the battlers.

"Come on you two!" She said. "You're about to be up there! Smile!" She took the sides of her mouth and pulled them up, demonstrating.

"I don't know..." Serena muttered bashfully, looking to the side.

"You can win Serena. I'm not that into battling." Paru shrugged.

"You're just going to let me win?"

"Yep."

"But that's no fun."

"And?"

"Are they going to start bickering again?" Jun inquired innocently to Lexi.

She shrugged. "At least we're getting a word out of them." She took a seat between the two before they started up again. She relaxed her look onto Paru, and tried her best not acknowledge his costume's shirtlessness. "Come on Paru. Can't you give this battle some effort? You'll be on TV."

Paru sighed and looked away. He's starting to hate when she looks at him like that. "I suck as a battler."

"Your pokémon are the ones on the front line, not you." She reminded. "You're just the commander."

"Are you trying to explain battling to him with military terms?" Serena said with a raised eyebrow.

The host walked in. "Lady and Blacksmith, please step to the teleportation deck. We're ready for you." The two obliged and walked towards the lit up tiles on the floor.

Serena gave Paru one last look before they were teleported. "Give it all you've got." She said.

Once they were on stage in their boxes, the crowd cheered and the judgebot began immediately. "This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lady Serena Valliya of Castelia City, Unova and Blacksmith Paru of Castelia City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The stage lowered again like in Nicolas's battle, but instead of filling with water, unstable pillars rose from the ground. Some were tall, some were short, many had wide surfaces to step on, and others were so small that you could only place a foot on it. "Begin."

Serena had to think wisely of which of her pokémon would be the best in this type of environment. She expanded a pokéball in her hand and tossed it. "Jigglypuff, go!"

Paru really didn't give a damn whether he won or not. Still, he didn't want to embarrass himself on live television, and tossed a pokéball containing his Oshawott. The Oshawott had a Puerto Rican flag shoddily painted over its scalchop.

"Use Screech!" Serena started. Jigglypuff, from the tallest pillar, opened its mouth and emitted such a high frequency wail that one of the hanging TV monitors cracked. Oshawott by that point was already disoriented and dizzy. Serena smirked. "Alright, now use Pound!" Jigglypuff floated forward, lobbing through the air like a puffball.

_I should probably do something. _Paru thought. _That Jigglypuff flies a helluva slow pace. Oshawott's just standing there waiting..._He thought about what Serena and Lexi had said. It wouldn't hurt to put a little effort, but he didn't want to be here... "Oshawott, just uh...do Aqua Jet."

Water began to surround Oshawott, until finally, it became a bullet completely enveloped in water. Oshawott barely grazed Jigglypuff, missed, and timidly turned itself around and attempted to strike again. Jigglypuff was a balloon—she couldn't dodge in time and was hit, slammed right into a pillar that collapsed from the weight.

"Jigglypuff!" Serena called. "Are you okay?"

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff replied with a cough. She was on the ground now.

"Use Earthquake where you are!" Serena commanded. It seemed like a last-resort kind of thing in this kind of environment, but with Paru's lack of interest in the battle she was willing to do anything to get to the next round. Jigglypuff braced its feet, stomped and stomped. The ground beneath began to quake and vibrate, and the unsteady pillars all began to fall and rain down. Oshawott struggled to stay up, but the pillar she stood on was beginning to crumble from beneath her. There were no other pillars to jump onto, either. They had all fallen.

"Aqua Jet!" Paru called, seeing that the pillar was falling—but it was going to fall on Jigglypuff.

Serena saw it too. "Jigglypuff move!" she shrieked. Jigglypuff looked up just in time to see Oshawott's small body jump into the air and rocket with a streak of water—the pillar came closing down, collapsing right on top of Jigglypuff. Serena gasped and climbed down the staircase to the bottom of the field.

"Jigglypuff is unable to battle. Paru is the winner."

Paru went deaf from the amount of applause from the audience. Disbelief was all over his face. He knew he won by sheer luck and clumsiness on Serena's part, but still—the battle was short, and Serena was going easy on him. He shouldn't have won. He feared his next opponent more than he did this battle.

Serena was aided by other 'bots to lift the column that fell on Jigglypuff. She was bruised, maybe with a cut, but otherwise would be fine.

"Jiggly...?" Jigglypuff asked if they had won.

Serena shook her head and smiled. "No, we didn't..." She looked up at Paru, singled out by a spotlight. "The winner was deserving of it. Let's just hope he makes it further."

* * *

><p><strong>Paru <strong>_tbh I didn't think I would win..._

**Lexi Redstone **You should be glad that you did :D

**Jun Kirman **YOU DID GREEAT

**Paru **Thanks...who are you?

**Jun Kirman **T_T  
>3 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_My turn... :l_

**Imogen Yale **Why so sad?

**James Lopreo **Well. I'm against Lexi.

**Lexi Redstone **-_- Should I be offended?  
>5 people agree<p>

**James Lopreo **No no no! You're awesome! I just don't know who would win..

**Lexi Redstone **That's what we leave the outcome to :)

**Irene Connor **MERRY CHRISTMAS!

**Amber Hendrix **ur random as hell -.-'

**Irene Connor **so are u :P

* * *

><p>"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lady Lexi Redstone of Castelia City, Unova and Lord James Lopreo of Black City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The stage remained the same, but a light from one of the bots demonstrated that the field was filled with a whole mess of invisible reflective walls. They weren't making the last battle of the preliminary battles anywhere near easy.<p>

James was dreading the battle all afternoon. Whether he won or lost, he still lost. If he beat Lexi, there would be a high possibility that she would be bitter from the loss and start hating him. If he won, then everyone else would probably be bitter that he won against her—Lexi—the prettiest and nicest one of the bunch. So pretty and nice that apparently she has her own fan club somewhere in the seats, all blonde and one brunette. They must've been the big family she talks about.

Lexi on the other hand didn't mind if she won or lost. She wanted to win, sure, but the fact that she got to test herself against James was a privilege to her. He was so strong. It'd be an honor just to share the battlefield with him.

"Begin." Announced the judgebot.

"Serperior! Let's dance!" Lexi tossed up the pokéball. A big green snake emerged, but when it tried to slither forward it hit one of the force field walls and looked absolutely perplexed.

"Let's go, Shazam!" James threw the pokéball, releasing his Kadabra onto the field. Shazam looked sleepy and uninterested, and it took great notice in the invisible barriers. With it being psychic, it could already map out what was where. It was an advantage that James knew he would need to take.

Lexi could tell that she wouldn't be able to make the first move with invisible obstacles in the way. She paid close attention to Shazam. Wherever it moved, that's where her Serperior could go.

James decided to go first, since after five seconds neither of them did a move. "Shazam use Psychic!" Shazam pointed its single spoon and started swerving it, as it were shooting a laser around the barriers to reach Serperior.

Lexi saw the lag time and immediately reacted before they were struck. "Serperior use Leaf Storm!" Serperior was confused to this move but her trainer knew that once the leafs erupted, all the barriers would be revealed—or at least most of them. Serperior whipped its tail, and leafs began to gather around as if it were a twister. Serperior released them in a spew, some shot out like darts while others hit the walls and fell. It was too quick to calculate a path, but both Lexi and James had gotten a pretty good estimate on where the walls were.

Psychic reached Serperior and lifted her up into the air—Serperior cried out and writhed as if it were in a giant hand.

"Shadow Ball!" James called. Shazam attempted to hold Serperior up while gather energy for Shadow Ball—

_He can't hold it! _Lexi saw Serperior begin to drop, little by little. "Serperior use Dragon Tail!" Serperior's tail began to glow purple—Shazam looked up in amazement—how did it do that? It dropped Psychic and released Shadow Ball—Serperior tumbled in the air, dodging Shadow Ball narrowly—and slammed down Dragon Tail on Shazam's head.

But now Serperior is close! "Shazam use Psychic again!" James called, aware that Shazam might be a bit dizzy from that. Pink energy pushed at Serperior—the big snake collided into a thick invisible wall, and that made her a little dizzy too.

"Shake it off!" Lexi said optimistically, "Use Aerial Ace!" Serperior slithered forward, as fast as a skipping stone—

"Use Shadow Ball!" James said. Serperior was too face and sliced Shazam's chest with the back of its tail, and Shazam fell back. "Do Psychic instead!" James said. It seemed like that was the only attack to hold Serperior at bay. Whenever it isn't held by Psychic, it was biting and flinging body parts and everything. Psychic slammed Serperior into another wall, and Serperior growled, tired of hitting the wall over and over. "Shadow Ball!" James commanded.

"Fling it back with Dragon Tail!" Lexi commanded. Serperior readied its tail—Shazam launched the orb up in the air, and Serperior stared at it, readying to hit it—another orb came straight at it, bashing right into it and knocking it into the wall again. Lexi groaned—where did _that _Shadow Ball come from? She waited for Serperior to come back up.

But it didn't.

James held his breath. "Serperior is unable to battle. James Lopreo is the winner." said the judgebot. Serperior pulled itself up, but a second too late. It was already declared fainted. James wasn't sure if he won or not, and the deafening applause wasn't any indication either. Once both pokémon were returned, the two trainers found themselves back at the teleportation station underground.

"What..." James started, still woozy from the teleportation here, "Who...won?"

Lexi giggled. "_You _did."

He gaped. "No way. _Me_? But I—but you—your Serperior got back up! The battle wasn't finished!"

She shook her head. "If Serperior doesn't get back up in 5 seconds or less, then technically she's unable to battle." She looked at him, but his face was still sad and empathetic. "It's alright, James. That was a radical battle."

He sighed. "Good, because I kind of—AHH!" She surprised him by throwing her arms around him, giving him a hug. He screamed a girlish shriek and she just laughed.

"You're so weird!" She laughed, releasing him. "You better win the rest of this tournament! I'd love to know what Quadros is like."

James's eyes widened. "You think I can win the whole thing and get the prize?"

She nodded. "Someone has to believe in you, James." He sighed in relief and smiled. At least if he lost, he knew he had someone to believe in him. He hoped it was enough to carry him the rest of the way.

* * *

><p><strong>Daniel Bay <strong>_Who's going to the next round?  
><em>Jun Kirman, Kaisei Arcan, Irene Connor, Amber Hendrix, Imogen Yale, Nicolas Wolfe, Lucas Taylor, Gerard Eckhart, Paru, and James Lopreo like this

* * *

><p><strong>Megan Valacio <strong>_I'm sorry I can't be there for you guys. I'm very pleased with who was promoted to the next round, and all who didn't, you all showed excellent progress with your battling skills. I wish you all good luck for next round.  
><em>13 people like this

* * *

><p>Everyone gathered at the lounge again. The second round would be tonight after dinner, and many were worn out from all the cheering and yelling it took to support their friends. Daniel and Rodolfo separated them by their class, so the juniors and seniors all stared at each other from opposite sides of the couch, uncomfortably clumped like that.<p>

In the lobby, others from the tournament stood around. Brett and Kari were hanging around another area, staring at the TV, and Elliot and Kay were conversing with some people on the holophone. Kai was walking around, scoping out the competition, and Jun just watched him with eyebrows lifted.

"I'd like to formally congratulate you all on your winnings today." Daniel said, standing below the TV. Everyone was staring above him.

"Not all of us won." Ashka reminded.

Daniel shrugged. "At least you didn't embarrass yourself out there."

Rodolfo shook his head. "LIES! Did you see what that _Nicolas _did, unleashed? He won! How dare he be worth something!"

"Meanie..." Nicolas grumbled.

"You're hurting Nicolas's feelings." Daniel snapped.

"SHHH! The next round brackets are coming up!" Lexi said, excited even though she wouldn't be participating.

Almost everyone was against another stranger in the tournament—all but Amber, who would face Kay. Amber wasn't scared at all and just smirked while everyone gave her sympathetic looks. Irene too—she would be facing Brett, and Lucas just sighed and patted her shoulder as if she was about to face the guillotine.

Lastly, Gerard and Jun were pit against each other. Jun thought of it as a shining opportunity for some experience against someone as strong as him, but when he looked over at Gerard—Gerard was just stone faced and solemn. Tonight's battle would be a mystery until then.

* * *

><p><strong>-Takes deep breath-<strong>

**SORRYSORRYdarnitSORRY **imtoastSORRYSORRY ohmygodwherewasmyhead S**ORRRYYYY!**

**Sigh. I updated late again. Just do it. CLOSE THE WINDOW T.T I'm undeserving of you guys! I keep saying I'll update and then I don't...and then I say I'll draw a picture and I don't...**

**Okay. So, the Christmas picture, I had it in mind. That was before school went and loaded all this craptastic homework on me for break, so I'll count; art project, research paper, science fair project, and journalism project. Hahaha. Nice world. Well, I'm not going to promise, but I really would like to draw an Eastward picture - definitly not for Christmas, I can't do that all in two days...not New Years, a week isn't enough...so a valentines picture, yes I'll do it :D I'll need suggestions for the shippings, though. You can mention that in a review if you like, and next week I'll probably have a poll up for most canon ones that I feel exist.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! ^_^ I really do appreciate you all! Have a merry Christmas, and if I don't get the chapter out by next week, Happy New Year too!**

**Also, I think Shadow of Eckhart mentioned that he wanted to do a sort of spin-off Christmas bit for Eastward, so look out for that :D if its actually made I'll post a link on my profile for people to click :P**

**OH. One last thing. There's a picture of the line up that I drew :P Sherry's there! I can't believe how amazing she turned out~Elliot, Nicolas, Kay, and Kari are up there as well.**


	24. Round Two

**Chapter Twenty-Three - Round Two  
><strong>_Same day as last chapter, around night time now, 6:30 ish_

"Wait for me!" Megan shouted in a huff. _Weird, that's what Daniel used to say to me. _She scrambled the wires and boxes back into her arms and scurried up the steep hill to where Ross was already perched and holding a giant handheld telescope to the sky. Finally, reaching the top, she set the things on the ground and collapsed on her butt beside them. She was sweating profusely in the chilly air from the hike up while Ross was still energetic and sweat-free.

Earlier they had been going on a goose chase, flying from town to town to collect lenses for the telescope. No satellite webcam they had access to gave the answers they were looking for. It was night again and the perfect opportunity to see beyond the ionosphere.

Ross pinpointed what she was looking for and gasped softly. Megan thought she was taking a breath until she saw the blonde pale.

"Hey...what's going on up there?" Megan inquired, getting back onto her feet.

Ross shook her head in dismay and silently handed her the telescope. Megan pointed it at the scope and searched around. She could see so far—she could see the Earth stations, the satellite in ground on Mars, and even the dust particles surrounding Neptune. She saw spacecrafts roaming around, nothing out of the ordinary.

"No...right there." Ross whispered, pushing the telescope some ten degrees.

"I don't see...oh _shat_."

It was a tortilla-shaped spacecraft. The telescope was so clear that Megan could see the people inside. They were blue skinned with oddly shaped ears. Ross quivered and zoomed out a bit. Now Megan could see a fleet of ten. An army of a hundred. There were so many, just sitting there like durants. They were surrounding the planet. Waiting.

Megan lowered the telescope, feeling as though she was about to see her dehydrated dinner again. "What the hell...why can't anyone _see _them?"

"Special glass." Ross said, tapping the telescope. "It sees through the cloaking device."

"Why aren't they attacking?"

She shrugged. "I do not know. Wish I did."

"Can we try and communicate with their ships?"

"They might attack when they know we know they are there."

"We're all screwed..." Megan whispered, looking down to her bit fingernails. "Unless...what if we tell someone?"

"I have already tried that." Ross groaned softly. "No one believes me."

Megan pointed the telescope back at the sky. They were still there, flooding in through the asteroid belt and looking like grains of sand from Pluto. When a spacecraft from Earth came near, they moved slowly out of the way, but they had a way of knowing when the craft would come near when it hadn't even moved. She put the telescope down and sighed.

"At least we know who's in those unregistered spacecrafts now."

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_The best feeling is when you look at him and he's already staring. :)  
><em>3 people like this

**Serena Valliya **Suspicious...whose this about?

**Lexi Redstone **Why does it have to be about anyone? ^/^

**Serena Valliya **the blush emoticon really isn't helping you  
>2 people agree<p>

**Lucas Taylor **:O Who is it?

**Paru **must be a nice guy..

**Lexi Redstone **He is ;)  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Kaisei Arcan <strong>_ngl, I know who will win in a match between __**Gerard **__and __**Jun**_  
>5 people agree<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **And how would you know...when I hardly know who you are?

**Kaisei Arcan **#ImPsychicLikeThat

**Gerard Eckhart **Doubt it -.-

**Kaisei Arcan **#YouKnowsItBoyyy

**Gerard Eckhart **Are all your replies in hashtags?

**Jun Kirman **Apparently they are :3

**Kaisei Arcan **#HeyThereBestie  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes this<p>

**Ashka Storme **Gerard's gonna kick Jun's butt :P no offense Jun

**Jun Kirman **...okay...

**Kaisei Arcan **OH! Jun! I found you a girlfriend! #BestWingmanEver

**Jun Kirman **KAIIIII -/-

**Serena Valliya **you guys blush so hard you'll get nosebleeds -_-  
>Kaisei Arcan and Paru like this<p>

**Kaisei Arcan **ohhhh...lmao #IJustGotThat

* * *

><p>Almost everyone sat separately in their group of friends for dinner at the expansive cafeteria. The whole place was filled with thousands of people, and that was only because the spectators had to eat too. Daniel had trouble doing headcount and sent Rodolfo out on a mission to do the hourly roll call. At least now mister fancy pants had a job to do.<p>

Rodolfo took great pride in prancing as flamboyantly as possible though the crowd to look for the teens. If he was trying to get everyone to part like the red sea for him, it worked. He smirked smugly and approached his ex-campers, all settled around a single cube table with beanbag seats.

"Hello children not as good looking as me!" He said, grinning at them.

Imogen whispered to Amber, "Why are his greetings always the same?"

"Maybe he's a malfunctioning Rodolfo-bot." Amber muttered in response.

"Where's the battery pack?" Sherry asked.

"Maybe in the..." Imogen looked away and blushed at that thought.

Rodolfo sat between Nicolas and Sherry in the table and enthusiastically looked between them. He had a lot of energy, considering there weren't enough people to insult in the stands. "So, how are you guys! Psyched? You're all going in the next round! Well, except Sherry. It's alright girlfriend, we love you despite your crappy battle skills!"

Sherry sulked and took her drink and looked at her lap.

"And Amber! Thanks for not causing someone to bleed this time!" Rodolfo grinned. Amber scowled and stabbed her fork into her instant dinner. "Imogen! Your country braids are lovely, dear! Oh, and you're getting freckles all over your food."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Amber spat as Imogen turned around and started rubbing her face wearily.

"What, you don't enjoy my company?" He asked, looking greatly offended. Sherry, Imogen, and Nicolas chorused a meek "yes". Rodolfo gasped and slapped his hands on his cheeks. He turned to Nicolas. "And _Nicolas_! Oh, how could I forget! No, no, _no_. Didn't I tell you you're not worth a battle win? You're going to need to forfeit the next battle to even things out."

Nicolas's lower lip quavered but he was tempted to push Rodolfo off his seat. No, he wouldn't do that. He knew he was too gentle for that.

Rodolfo laughed just because no one would respond to him. "Man, you guys are no fun! I'm leaving!" Once he was out of earshot, the teens returned to normal and smiled.

Nicolas looked around strangely. "Wait, wasn't there someone just there?"

Amber forced a smile and shook her head. It was better for Nicolas if he forgot immediately. "Nope. Just an annoying mosquito."

Sherry slapped her hand on the table, drinks jumping. "GOT IT!" She looked at her hand. "EEEW! Its guts are on my hand!"

Rodolfo scanned the cafeteria again. He noticed the numerous amount of men and women in 1 and 2-piece skin-tight jumpsuits. It was obvious that the people came from either Holon or Sohjay. That was the trending style there, and no one but them understood the infatuation you could have with dull colored suits and neon wires running through them that _everyone _was wearing.

Lucas, Jun, Irene, and Kai were sitting at a long rectangular table, and sitting farther down at the other end was Brett and Kari. The meaning of the isolation was bizarre to him. He assumed with how much they talked, they'd be close friends. It just proved how bad of a lip reader he was.

Ashka and Gerard were still in line. Gerard knightly picked up Ashka's tray when they were done choosing and backed to the table where Serena, James, and Lexi were at with their own selections. Ashka's lip twitched but she resisted the urge to smile.

"Ahh! More campers to fool with!" Rodolfo said, clapping his hands together. He tiptoed to their table, despite the people around long-since noticing his presence and oddness. Ashka and Gerard turned as Serena pointed out Rodolfo's "ninja-like" walk.

"Why's he coming here?" Ashka muttered, groaning.

"Trolling I bet." Gerard replied.

Rodolfo appeared quickly at their table and checked off their names on the list. "Done!" He said. "Now, what are you five up to?" He leaned forward on the table and looked at them with excited, hungry eyes.

"Why do—" Serena started,

"ZINGER!" He shrieked, pointing at her. "I _cannot _believe you lost to that blonde kid! It was because he wasn't wearing a shirt, right? Oh girlfriend I know how that tune goes!"

Serena's face grew red and she looked to the others for help, but they were stifling giggles.

"And your Jigglypuff!" He continued. "WHAT THE HELL! Earthquake! Jigglypuffs can't learn that! What are you, a miracle worker?"

Lexi shook her head while laughing and stepped in. "Mr. Rodolfo, we—"

"Other blondie!" Rodolfo said, turning to her. "How do you lose to _him_?" He thumbs James. "I mean, _look_ at him! He looks like an evolved dinosaur!"

"Whazzat supposed to mean?" James said, scowling. He crumbled immediately. "Yeah…its true..." The table became quiet and Rodolfo was bored instantly.

"You all are no fun! I'm leaving!" He up and left, to the relief of the others. Lexi looked down the table. Paru was sitting by himself, alone. She empathized with him.

"Guys…can Paru sit with us?"

"Ummm…" Gerard, Ashka, and James chorused, looking elsewhere.

"I'll go." Lexi said, picking up her tray. She ignored the looks from the others. Serena and James didn't want her to leave, but Ashka was fine with it and Gerard was neutral on the subject. She crossed through people and came around the table, sitting across Paru. He looked up from shifting his instant carrots with a spork and smiled. Something inside of Lexi fluttered, like book pages being flipped through. She asked, "Do you want to play checkers?"

He casted his glance back down at his tray again. _Crap! Say something intelligent before she hears you blab about Glee! _He merrily nodded, unable to meet her eyes. She grinned and changed the table screen setting between them. The game came up holographically.

"Don't you want to sit with your friends?" He asked hesitantly. _Stupid stupid stupid! Now she's going to leave!_

"What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. He cursed. His mind went blank again. "You're my friend." She said.

"Yeah but…" he looked down at the table and made a move with the red piece. "Heh, never mind." Serena came to sit next to Lexi, smiling apologetically. She made no moves to apologize to Paru, though. James was left with Ashka and Gerard, and their penetrating dark gazes were like gamma rays. He shrieked, picked up his tray, and ran out of the cafeteria with a bagel between his teeth.

"Was it something I said?" Gerard asked, glancing at the path James made.

"Maybe he left the oven on." Ashka shrugged, taking another sip of her soda.

Now with Lucas, Jun, Irene, and Kai—it was difficult for them to discuss about the "plan" with Lucas there. He carried on normally—joking around, acting like a perv, and still never speaking to Kai directly. Jun felt bad that in a few days all of that would change. The rift seemed to already be between them, and if Lucas noticed, he didn't say anything.

"Wasn't your grandpa unit supposed to come, Jun?" Irene asked, shocking away the awkward silence. She smiled sweetly at him through the ocean blue locks that looked like it had exploded from the battle she was in. A Discharge gone awry—that's all she would let the camera admit.

Jun looked up to ponder. Which grandpa did she mean? His foster granddad or…no, that's the only one. He shrugged in response.

"_Round 2 will be starting shortly._" Echoed the robots that were hovering around. "_Please go to your seats."_

Everyone stood up and began making a wave motion towards the only exit doors—in the confusion, Kai pulled Jun aside.

"48 hours. Got it?"

Jun nodded feverishly. He had 48 hours to come up with a plan to stop it.

* * *

><p><strong>Kaisei Arcan <strong>_Alright! Time for that deciding battle! #KickAssJun  
><em>2 people dislike this

**Paru **That Snorlax you just called fat? Yeah, it's eating rare candies by the DOZEN for you to accept it. That Gastly you just called ugly? It's been trying to learn a new move to replace its Mean Look. That Slowpoke you just tripped? He has a learning disability. See that Hitmonchan with the scars? He fought in Vietnam for your freedoms today. Put this as your status if you're against PokeBullying. Help save a Pokémon a visit to the Pokémon Center.  
>14 people like this<p>

**Kaisei Arcan **#Spaaammm

* * *

><p>Gerard and Jun watched the battle happening outside from the observatory deck between the stands. Jun winced as Paru's Milktank smashed its utters into the opponent's Purrloin. The cracking sound from Purrloin's skull was unfortunately audible from the microphones planted in the stage.<p>

"Purrloin is unable to battle." Said the robotic judge from the ceiling. "Paru is the winner."

Gerard shook his head wistfully. "I can't believe Paru made it to the next round."

"Why not?" Jun asked.

Gerard shrugged. _Because Paru's a joke, _he thought. _You can't make it in this world without pokémon. You can't survive without 'em. He's so lax, it gets me irritated..._

The two traveled downstairs to the teleportation pads. Paru and his opponent passed by, and Jun gave Paru a high-five that was weak on Paru's part. Gerard just nodded in acknowledgement. That had Paru prouder than from Jun's gesture.

_Hope Lexi was watching. _Paru thought as he navigated back to the stands.

Gerard and Jun shared one last look before being blinded with light and finding themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lord Gerard Eckhart of White Forest, Unova and Lord Jun Kirman of Castelia City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." Thick white fog came in from the smoke machines under the stage. The trainers themselves couldn't see ahead, but the audience was at a higher angle where they could see over the fog. "Begin."

Gerard snapped a grey pokéball off his magnetic belt. "Let's go, come on out." With a toss of the ball, a street-lamp resembling pokémon appeared, illuminating its radius from the fog. Jun squinted to see. He send out a Lampent.

Jun was aware that he'd have to think fast or get disqualified. But who to choose? Not Wailord or Whismur. Using his own Lampent was a plain bad idea. Just when he heard the timer clicking behind him, he chucked up a pokéball blindly— "I'm putting my faith in you!" He shouts, but he doesn't finish the sentence because he forgets who was in it. Joule his Luxio appears. He sighed in relief—he could've gotten worse.

Neither of the two moved. Gerard leaned back to observe while Jun anxiously awaited to counter.

Aika's annoying high voice came over the loud speakers. "_And none make a move! What an odd battle style!" _the crowd quieted a few decibels, confused. "_I hope they remember that they have eight minutes on the clock! Oh! 7 minutes 30 seconds and 53 milliseconds!"_

"Come on Gerard..."Ashka muttered from the bottom row of the stands, her hands tightening over the railing. Lexi continued to cheer and root loudly behind her, screeching out her voice.

Gerard peeped at the clock; 06:56:28 left. He tapped his foot impatiently. He'd wait until the last second to move if it came down to it.

_Alright, staring contest over. _Jun thought. _We'll use the fog to our advantage. _"Joule use Bite!"

Gerard instantly reacted. "On your toes, Lampent! A 360 Flamethrower!"

Luxio came lunging, out of the fog—Lampent span, summoning Flamethrower, but not fast enough for Luxio to get a bite out of one of its handles. Lampent cried out in surprise and pain. It revolved again, trying to swing Luxio off—flames burst at its candle tips—

Jun squinted, unable to see anything but the red glow. Next thing he knew Luxio was rolling backwards like a snowball of a mountain, an explosion of fire singeing its paws. When it tried to get back up, it whimpered, unable to put down any of its feet without feeling like cactus thorns were going into its bare flesh.

Gerard briefly saw Luxio's predicament and went for another attack. "Now Lampent, Will-o-Wisp!"

Jun stammered soothing things to Joule, trying to nurse its burning feet with words. He could see it didn't help much, and to add to that it was frighteningly dark out here with the fog hard to see through. He thought he was hallucinating, seeing blue ambient glows in the fog—no, it was real—levitating blue flames were coming for Luxio.

"Joule, dodge!" Jun said. Luxio attempted to scramble off its feet and run, but it was too slow and the pain in its feet was unbearable. The flames doused it—Luxio shrieked, finding the tips of his furry coat on _fire_.

Gerard laughed menacingly. He knew it was wrong to laugh in a situation like this—but he couldn't help it, Luxio's puppy-on-fire spiel was hilarious. Lampent laughed along.

Jun's first thought was, _bullies..._but he knew it was the battle personalities talking. "Stop, drop, and roll Joule!" He coached. Luxio did as told and rolled itself on the glass, the flames instantly cooling to embers. It sighed and placed its head on its paws, wanting to do nothing but sleep...

Jun's voice rang it out of its sleep. "No, Joule! Don't fall rest or we'll be disqualified!" He pleaded. "Please, just a few more minutes and you can rest as long as you want!" He checked the time; exactly 4 minutes on the clock. Gerard looked at the time too; he smirked, ready to slow this battle down even more Lampent would win. Luxio looked in no shape to continue.

"JUNN!" Irene's voice screeched from the bottom rows behind Jun. He turned momentarily, but he didn't want to lose any more time than was already lost. His eyes widened when he saw who was beside her. "Look! It's your grandpa unit!" She said, pointing dramatically.

His grandpa frowned analytically and crossed his arms. He could see how bad Jun was doing just as everyone else saw.

_I've gotta step up, _Jun thought. _I can't lose to Gerard, no matter how cool his hair is! _"Joule use Volt Switch! But don't actually..._switch_." He commanded delicately. Luxio nodded and barged forward, wincing with every step, and shimmering with golden electricity that snaked out from under its feet.

"Up, Lampent." Gerard said. Lampent levitated up and out of reach. Luxio groaned and looked up directly below it, the lightening trailing off its muscles and onto the glass. "Now use Shadow Ball!"

"Dodge!" Jun said warily. Luxio made a running start, but it tripped on its feet and was sliding on its face on the ground. Shadow Ball came crashing down, slamming into its abdomen and the force flipping it several times before settling back onto the glass with a faint _ow_. Jun glanced at his grandpa for a half second. He saw a head shaking in disappointment and sighed.

Luxio pushed itself up, despite wanting to do nothing but collapse.

_I suppose the battle isn't over till it's over, _Gerard thought. _Two minutes left. I hope he doesn't make a turn around. _He snapped his eyes back to the battle, shocked—what the hell! When did Luxio jump up and attack with Bite? "Use Psychic and shake it off!" He said.

"Don't let go!" Jun said, hoping Luxio could endure it. Luxio kept its teeth locked onto Lampent's metal handles, fighting the light pull that was trying to tug it backwards. Lampent was slowly drifting to the ground.

"Will-o-Wisp again!" Gerard said. Lampent threw away Psychic, and in surprise Luxio let go and was thrown across the stage—it gasped—one of its fangs came out! A blue glow was coming towards it through the fog—

"Joule use Roar!" Jun said. Luxio braced itself, digging its nails into the ground—_RAWR! _The fog and the flames were blown away as if it were a flying-type move.

"_30 seconds!_" Came Aika's voice. The crowd counted down, 29...28...27...

"Lampent use Flamethrower!"

"Joule, around it and use Volt Switch!" Lampent blew out the flames—Luxio gasped, the fire coming at it like combustion jets raging through vents and pipes—Luxio ran to the left, feeling its right side tingle as its left side mustered up electricity—_BAM! _Luxio struck Lampent and jumped out of the way, and Lampent span like a top, trying to reorient itself.

The buzzer went off. Time was up, and both pokémon let out a loud sigh. The red scanning light went through them, determining who had the most health at the moment—

"Lampent is unable to battle. Jun Kirman is the winner."

Jun gasped—but how? His Luxio had been worn out since the 4 minute mark! Gerard just nodded, accepting it. He could see his Lampent was beginning to faint the second that Luxio had bitten it the second time. Neither could suck up the glory of the applause because they found their selves backstage again.

Jun glanced at Gerard, utterly frightened of the outcome. What if he yelled at him like in elementary school? He still shivers at those. Young Gerard was scarier than present Gerard.

Gerard stuck out his fist. "Good match out there." He said, grinning. "Definitely surprised me with your Luxio's endurance. It was burned since the beginning of the match and you had it keep going."

Jun returned the fist bump, but his smile was forced. "Thanks." He said. He probably should've told Gerard that he was tearing like tissue paper every time Luxio winced in pain. He felt the pain himself. Still, the two walked back to the stands where there friends were, both feeling like some type of hero.

Gerard, ha, he fought until the very last second.

Jun, he had beaten a senior, and his bright smile showed how proud he was.

Between all the condolence pats, Gerard sneaked a glance over at Jun. He was looking adoringly at all of his friends, thankful that they were there to support him. He looked innocent and happy. How was he supposed to be tied to Irene in some kind of alien ploy? How do any of them seem anything but human? Gerard sighed.

_I might be wrong, but Jun is in no way an alien. Irene, possibly. Besides, she and Lucas have freaky blue hair._

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_**Gerard, **__you were amazing out there, despite the outcome. Now we can sit in the stands together :P_

**Sherry Brogan **Girl, ur doing it all wrong. The emoticon is ;)  
>3 people like this<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **Thanks for the support ;)

**Sherry Brogan **See! He used it correctly!  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **You did amazing Gerard! I had my whole family rooting for you! :D

**James Lopreo **Man, you lost...I wanted to be against you in the finals :l  
>Kaisei Arcan doubts this<p>

**Paru **...You did good, dude. Like the protagonist who takes the fall to spare feelings dude  
>2 people like this<p>

**Serena Valliya **:o You got a compliment from Paru. Cherish it~  
>Paru likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **o_O that's a first

**Paru **What? I give compliments

**Lexi Redstone **When was that? :P besides the directors of the remake of Little Red Riding Dwarf

**Paru **Like...like now. Your hair is attractively voluptuous  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **way to make this post awkward, guys

* * *

><p><strong>Amber Hendrix <strong>_You guys are cheering for me and not tiny purple stuff, right? ;(  
><em>4 people like this

**Imogen Yale **Yeah :)

**Sherry Brogan **I'll cheer in the stands too! I'll be the loudest one! YEAHHH! YOU GO AMBERR! YEAHHH!

**Jun Kirman **Woo! Go Amber!

**Amber Hendrix **eh, I don't need you -.-

**Jun Kirman **...T_T  
>Amber Hendrix likes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_Thanks for the congratulations on the win, guys :)  
><em>3 people like this

**Paru **No one congratulated you...online

**Jun Kirman **That's why I do it for myself ^_^  
>Paru thinks this is pathetic<p>

**Kaisei Arcan **#GreatWinKnewYouCouldDoIt  
>Jun Kirman likes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Damn I was second :l congrats on the win  
>Jun Kirman likes this<p>

**Irene Connor **You heard me in the stands right? I was a BEAST!

**Kaisei Arcan **You were embarrassing. I had to move.  
>Lucas Taylor agrees<p>

**Irene Connor **:[ extraterrestry  
>Kaisei Arcan wants to report this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **XD I WISH you were aliens

**Jun Kirman **Why would you wish such a thing? T.T

* * *

><p><em>One foot in front of the other, balance, <em>balance_. Do not let the stilettos defeat you. Crap damn shi—_

Amber stumbled down a step of the stairwell and was briskly caught by a robot that was molded into the wall. She recomposed herself quickly, her face returning to the I-don't-give-a-damn setting. When she was at the bottom of the carpeted stairs, she arrived at the tunnel-like teleportation station with sleek, glazed metal walls. Her purple-haired opponent waited patiently, watching the 'bots for the current battle that was soon to closing. It was Imogen against someone's Jynx.

Amber took the seat farthest from her on the single waiting bench. Kay turned and waved enthusiastically, then snapped her head back to the screen.

"_Jynx is unable to battle. Imogen is the winner." _Said the judgebot. Kay clapped and cheered loudly, despite not knowing who the heck it was.

Amber laughed bitterly. "Ha, Imogen. You're such a monster on the low."

Just then a light flashed through the area, and there stood Imogen and her opponent, except the opponent ran away immediately in tears. Imogen's ears twitched and she twisted to face Amber.

"What was that?" She asked, smiling coyly behind her pink hair.

"I said you're a monster!" Amber repeated, although her smile contradicted what she said. "Look at you! You only have _one _pokémon, and you've been kicking ass with that _one _pokémon! You put pokémon masters to shame!"

Imogen smiled appreciatively. "Aww thanks, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"And the last." Amber added. "I hand out compliments as often as valentine e-cards."

"But you don't send valentine e-cards."

"_Exactly._" Amber nodded, crossing her arms. "Now go off, go and sit in those blasted cramped stands with reclining seats."

"Sounds like a great plan." Imogen chuckled. "Good luck Amber!" She said, patting Amber's spiked-bladed shoulder pads. "Oh, and you too Kay!" She tramped up the steps, missing Amber's brief scowl at her opponent. The two females noticed the heavy awkward, and it was partly due to how they met earlier that day.

_I have questions..._Amber thought. She didn't realize she thought it aloud until Kay replied.

"What questions?"

"Crap—you heard that?" Amber clicked the heels of her boots together as Kay nodded feverishly. "Okay, then..." She looked at Kay's sunglasses. She already overheard from Ashka what they could do and wasn't willing to give away that kind of information. "So...why that Elliot jerk? You _do _know he's a jerk right? I can give you flashbacks."

"I know..." Kay muttered, eyes glued to her hands in her lap. "He's kind of...power hungry. I knew it when I met him. He just has that...look in his eyes."

"Why do you deal with his crap then?"

"Because when he's not looking crazy...he's looking at _me_, and he still tolerates it." Kay shrugged weakly. "Someone's got to deal with my crazy..."

"_You're _not crazy. You don't know crazy." Amber stated. There was Amber-crazy, where she beheads live animals. There's James-crazy and his obsession with soft food-drinks. There's Irene-crazy and her just overall suspicious act. Kay attempted to smile, and checked the time. Their battle was in another minute. Her sunglasses slipped.

Amber's eyebrows rose. _Oh, a black eye huh? _She was suspicious to where it was from. She had a feeling it was from a blonde muscly-guy with a shoddy pokéball-symbol shaved into his head.

"We're ready for you two." Said Aika, passing by with equipment around her ears and on the belt she wore over her dress.

"Woo! Battle time!" Kay hopped up eagerly and play-punched the air in front of her, as if she was going to be in a boxing match instead of a pokémon battle. Amber looked at her strangely. _I guess there's such a thing as a 4__th__ type of crazy...__** "**_Good luck! Give it your all!" Kay said, giving her a thumbs up as she stepped into the right tube.

Amber stepped into the tube on the left and shrugged. "You too." She replied, but her voice faded out as both were teleported, molecule by molecule, onto their boxes on stage. The stadium was as full as she remembered in her last battle, and she soaked up the cheers, whether it be for her or not. She quickly spotted her cheer team behind Kay's box. Imogen smiled warmly and sent her the four-fingered V-sign.

Amber replied back with their signature _I_/_you got this _gesture. Kay looked between them confusedly and half sighed.

"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Queen Kay Rimwing of Sunyshore City, Sinnoh and Knight Amber Hendrix of Driftveil City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The glass pores of the battlefield opened to small pit traps. Flames as tall as Amber in her killer stilettos rose from the all the pits. Both trainers eyes widened—what were the tourney people trying to do, roast their pokémon alive? "Note; not all floor holes will enflame at once." Said the judgebot. "Begin."

"Sableye, time in!" Kay shrieked, tossing a pokéball into the air in a safe spot. Safe spots were identified by blue rings on the ground.

"Yamask go!" Amber yelled, throwing up the pokéball. Her strange black pokémon with the facemask appeared from the white streak of light. Amber was aiming to win, and she always wanted to win fast. A battle more than a minute long was ridiculous and she would only blame her pokémon for not defeating the opponent yet. She commanded first, "Use Ominous Wind!"

It was a risk to take, but either way Kay's sunglasses calculated that there would be no blind spot with a high accuracy move like Ominous Wind. She said, "Sableye use Sucker Punch!"

Sableye darted forward creepily as Yamask took a deep breath, raising its spine. Sableye's fists blurred out, obscured in a darker purple aura then its already colored skin, and lunged forward, aiming the fists as Yamask's head—Yamask was struck once and then it blasted lavender ghostly winds out of its mouth, leaving a whole sea of purple smoke to cover the stage. Sableye hardly made a sound as it collided with the ground, but it snapped up immediately and hid within the smokey shroud.

"_Oh my, that Ominous Wind doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon!" _Aika's squirrely voice narrated. _"However will our trainers proceed?"_

"That woman is ahell annoying." Amber muttered, squinting through Ominous Wind. "Yamask use Disable!"

"Sableye dodge!" Kay retaliated. Sableye darted around the stage, unsure when to evade because Yamask made no moves. The smoke faded away and Yamask's mask was on its face. The face was handsome, one with high cheek bones and slick eyes. The eyes flashed. Sableye staggered backwards, cupping its face with its hands. Its fingers greyed out from the usual purple skin tone.

_Now try to punch us, ha. _Amber smirked. Unfortunately, Ominous Wind was Yamask's only offense move, so she'd have to wait for another move to fight back.

Sensing that Amber wasn't going offense, Kay shrieked, "Sableye, Power Gem!" Sableye's sapphire and ruby jeweled-eyes began to glow—

"Yamask use Protect, Ping-Pong style!" Amber replied with. The ground rumbled—columns of fire danced from the floor on the upperleft row of the field, and both pokémon paused and stared, only to realize quickly that the fire was going to sweep in their direction. Both ran for the safe circles—Yamask couldn't find one on its side of the field. Sableye on the other hand had ample amount of space in his new circle. Fire erupted from the 2nd column, calmed, 3rd column, calmed— "Use Protect, dammit!" Amber yelled to Yamask.

Yamask stamped its hands out of its sides, creating a spherical-clear shield of psychic energy. Fire erupted out of from in front, under, and beside it, but the flames merrily swerved around it.

"Continue with Power Gem Sableye!" Kay shrieked.

"Keep up with protect!" Amber said. Yamask winced. Keeping protect up was like carrying a heavy wooden shield. Its arms were quickly getting tired but it saw the sparkling white shards of rock coming towards it. The pieces _ping_ed off the shield. Yamask ushered the shield forward, at least attempting to fling some of the pieces back like its trainer had intended. That's when its grip fell.

"Shadow Claw!"

Sableye darted a short distance to Yamask, whose shield quickly dropped and dissolved into nothing. Sableye's darkened right hand sliced across Yamask's face, spiraling it backwards onto the hard ground. Its mask slipped out of its grip and its own head was stuck in pit trap.

"Sonuva..." Amber muttered, shaking her head. She knew she should've picked Ariados for the job. "Get the frakk up, Yamask!"

Yamask shrieked, flames now pushing its face out of the pit. It swiped at its face, extinguishing the fire.

"Quit playing around!" Amber yelled. Yamask scowled. Did she _not _care that he just had a face full of hell's depths?

"_2 minutes left!_" Aika's voice narrated.

"Let's hurry! Sableye use Sucker Punch again!" Kay said. Sableye shook its head. "What? It's still disabled? Fine! Use Foul Play!"

It would be the finishing move, Amber could tell. She could see the sunglasses analyzing Yamask's HP. She knew Yamask was tired but she wasn't one to give up when the going gets tough. It's either finish the battle or die trying, nothing else. There's no honor in the white flag.

"Yamask use Protect!" She yelled. Yamask floated up weakly, collecting the mask that had ended up next to it. It spread its arms again and the force field came up, this time visible. Yamask didn't have enough energy to mask it. Sableye came slamming into the shield head-first like a rocket, black energy streaming behind it—the thin walls of the shield began to ripple, as if it weren't strong enough to hold and was slowly letting Sableye inside. Yamask's arms trembled. It couldn't hold it any longer. Yamask twisted, twisting the shield as well, tossing Sableye onto the ground.

Kay read the analysis from her sunglasses. _Impossible. _She thought. _Yamask has absolutely no energy left. How is it still standing? _She looked up doubtedly as Amber commanded a round of Ominous Wind. _She knows her pokémon isn't able to fight anymore...why does she keep going? _Kay was silent and her Sableye just stood stationary, obediently waiting for a command. _Just like...just like Elliot...it's not over until it's over..._

Ominous wind came out differently this time, turning into a gust of wind that tore through Sableye's fur and flew him across the field. Yamask was staggering in the air, trying its hardest to stay afloat—randomly, all the odd numbered rows of the field lit on fire, and Sableye was consumed in a flurry of red and white. Yamask hovered safely in the safe spot, having never left it when it respawned after the last barrage.

Once the display was over, Sableye was found looking like a stray lump of fur on the field. A red light shot out—many thought it was the scanbot, but it was Kay, pokéball poised at Sableye.

"I know when it's over." She whispered, tucking her chin downwards.

"Sableye has forfeited. Amber Hendrix is the winner."

Yamask sighed and let itself drop onto the ground, because it was much more comfortable than trying to stay levitated. Amber ignored the applause and the raining confetti and scowled at Kay across the field. Both were teleported back at the station.

"What the hell was that!" Amber shouted, wrenching open the door of the tube. Kay snapped her head left and right.

"Crud, I left the oven on!" She shrieked, and scurried away, up the stairwell and out of sight. Amber didn't bother to follow. Last thing she heard echo from the stairs was, "...Just like Elliot."

* * *

><p><strong>Amber Hendrix <strong>_Yes, I've done it. I've taken down the queen. All of you who betted against me owe me money :]  
><em>6 people dislike this

**Kaisei Arcan **Not cool! I wanted to be the one to do it :[

**Ashka Storme **It was luck. You had the pit trap field -.-

**Imogen Yale **You worked poor Yamask to death :l

**Amber Hendrix **Hey, he could've fainted anytime. But he didn't ;P

**Nicolas Wolfe **Zat cuz u install fear in all urz pokemans...  
>James Lopreo corrects 'install' to 'instill' grammar nazi..<p>

**Amber Hendrix **Hun, don't speak unless asked -.-

**Imogen Yale **It's true, Amber. Your pokémon are scared you'll kill them :l

**Ashka Storme **It's a lose lose situation -.- either they die in battle or die by saber

**Amber Hendrix **I'd say shut it but it's true lol  
>3 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_Congrats on the win, __**James**__!  
><em>James Lopreo likes this

**Serena Valliya **Surprised me with the range of Luxray's charge beam..

**Paru **Still missed  
>Serena Valliya dislikes this<p>

**James Lopreo **Thanks guys :3

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Nicolas and Kari won their battles, guys. I hate to say it but the competition is dwindling down to just us_

**Lexi Redstone **Scared of the competition? XP

**Lucas Taylor **You aren't even part of the competition -.-

**Irene Connor **My battle is soon! I can't wait :P I want to go against Kari soon!

**Lucas Taylor **That would mean you would beat Brett. He's defeated all of his opponents recently in under a minute.

**Irene Connor **You said the same thing about Kay -.- and she was beat by Amber.

**Kaisei Arcan **#ToBeFair Kay had a record on her bio of all of her accomplishments, including official times and amount of badges. #She'sSeenHellAndBack

**Irene Connor **What are you trying to say? I was lost in the stupid hashtags.

**Kaisei Arcan **You can't judge a person by their records.

**Irene Connor **Which is why I can beat him.

**Kaisei Arcan **#WhichIsWhyYouShouldn'tSayAnythingUntilYou'reOnThatStage

**Jun Kirman **Good luck Irene :3  
>Irene Connor likes this<p>

* * *

><p>"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Serf Irene Connor of Black City, Unova and King Brett Kuso of Sinnoh. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The glass stage instantly iced over. The spotlights set on it so that the pokémon and the audience could see in the dark. "Begin."<p>

Irene was on the right side of the stage. She had never met Lucas's cousin until now, and she was creeped out by his dark demeanor. Why wasn't he into sunshine and rainbows like her? Those were the most beautiful things Earth has given her. Her home planet, not often. Maybe once in a blue double moon. She wouldn't know. She only stayed there during the summers. Kai picked her up by the lake in the nice tortilla-shaped spacecraft.

Brett tipped his magnificently adorned crown up, smirked, and wordlessly threw up a pokéball. From the light an Infernape with thick muscles and gleaming golden shoulder pads emerged. It scared Irene for a second. Its nostrils flared with every breath it took. How could it be pumped up when the battle has hardly started?

She released her Murkrow onto the field. The icy field posed as no threat to a pokémon that could fly. Neither did it for Infernape, who was just radiating strength. That, and being a fire-type, melted whatever ice was under its feet. The ice regenerated, nevertheless.

Brett called first and directly went for Thunder Punch. Infernape barged forward on all fours, fists bursting of so much power that ice chips flew. Irene had Murkrow dodge into the sky and do Swords Dance. She followed with Faint Attack—Murkrow dive bombed, disappeared—

"Thunder Punch!" Brett called anyway. He trusted that Infernape knew what to do.

Infernape did. Murkrow was just a _second _away, invisible, and Infernape sensed it and punched forward, electrifying the bird. Murkrow slid across the ice, wincing and still a little frazzed.

Irene pressed for Murkrow to get back up. Brett hadn't called a move but Infernape was moving—was that allowed? Brett was just leaning back and watching with a smirk. Without knowing what to do, Irene told Murkrow to use Air Cutter. Infernape merrily leapt over it and struck with Close Combat, punching and kicking so fiercely that the buzzer beeped mid-kick.

Brett nodded to his Infernape. Irene looked at him skeptically.

"Murkrow is unable to battle. Brett Kuso is the winner."

Brett soaked up the applause and fan girls and the hug from Kari, wherever she came from, as he was declared winner. Irene shook her head. That last move, _how _did Infernape know how to do it? Did it just do it on instinct? Why did his pokémon move out of command? But Brett was pleased with it. Had they communicated telepathically?

_I know I tasted something funny in the air when he came around. _Irene thought, now blinded by light.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_What did I say? He pwned you in less than 30 seconds __**Irene**__._

**Irene Connor **You don't have to be a jerk about it...

**Lucas Taylor **You're too sensitive. I wasn't being a jerk -.-

**Jun Kirman **idk Lucas, I'm kinda hurt too...  
>Irene Connor likes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **drama queens -.-

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_You guys did awesome, __**Kaisei **__and __**Lucas**__! Congrats on the win best franns!  
><em>3 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **Why'd you lump us together like that?

**Jun Kirman **...Because...When Kai won, I went to the bathroom, and when I got back, you had already won...

**Lucas Taylor **So you MISSED my battle, "best friend"? :[

**Serena Valliya **It took you that long to go to the bathroom? O_o

**Jun Kirman **I stopped for a snack too...  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes this, 2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_Today was a good day, guys :) I had fun in the tournament, and I can't wait to see who will be in the finals.  
><em>6 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **what a sappy summary post

**Paru **so who did we lose?

**Lexi Redstone **Gerard and Irene

**Jun Kirman **and Kay

**Lucas Taylor **she's not part of our group -.-

**Jun Kirman **wellll

**Lucas Taylor **NO. :[ NO MORE STRAYS  
>Kaisei Arcan dislikes this<p>

**Amber Hendrix **I saw her pass by with a new burn on her arm lmao

**Lexi Redstone **omg why do you find that funny...?

**Amber Hendrix **XD it's in the shape of a pokéball  
>2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel made sure all his campers were checked in before he and Pita walked to the edge of the island, him in diving gear. His name was stitched on the back, a present from Megan while she was still learning how to work the machine from her mom. The suit was mainly black, skin tight, with blue accents on the shoulders and elbows.<p>

_Hope she's safe. _He thought as he sat at the edge of the island. It was literally an _edge_, just beyond the railing, where the grass stops and beyond is dark indigo waters. He checked the dual oxygen tanks strapped to his back and then pulled on the clear bowl-like helmet. It was like a spacesuit, only tighter and darker.

"Ready Pita?" He said, turning to his partner pokémon.

"Pan!" Pita cried, tugging on her flora necklace eagerly. She dived in head first, followed by Daniel who pushed himself off the edge. The water was freezing, but it took only seconds of adjusting for the suit to be the right climate. He didn't even feel wet. Before she went anywhere, Daniel clipped a flashing collar onto Pita's neck to illuminate the things around her.

They both looked down. No amount of light was enough to reach the depths of the ocean. Daniel took his styler and turned on the map.

_We should reach the bottom in a few...50 miles_. He thought. He began kicking downwards, Pita swimming in line beside him. With nothing but darkness for his head to focus on, Daniel wandered. He thought about how strange it was that Megan was pulled for a mission while she was off duty. Why couldn't they have picked someone else? There were plenty of others. Heck, there were others _better _than her. He'd put anyone stranger in place of her so she could be beside him in the stands during the tournament. He wanted to see her smile and her dark eyes light up.

Pressure began pushing at his chest and the suit adjusted again. The motors in the feet of the suit turned on, jetting them faster downwards. All he had to do was steer, but even then he didn't need to dodge anything because the water pokémon usually saw Pita's light and scurried away.

Finally, they reached the bottom. Daniel's feet hit "pavement", and suction cups instantly replaced the motors.

"We're going to need light..." He muttered, and he knew they were far too deep to hear each other. Pita hung onto his leg, afraid of the darkness. "You'd think there'd still be light down here..." He pulled a flat circular device out of his pocket and tapped the center.

It began growing, acquiring new attachments, shaping into what looked like an hourglass except it was a lamp. The sand filled the top, glowing a bright white. The particles that fell to the lower half dimmed. He had until the glass ran out to do what he was going to do until he fell into darkness again.

He let the lamp drift in front of him. It began to rise. Daniel touched a sensor on Pita's collar, and the lamp stopped moving. He beckoned for Pita to swim forward. She was reluctant to go into the darkness, but failing her trainer was not an option. They were both tired and this needed to be done fast.

Pita moved, pedaling forward. The lamp followed, and Daniel stepped behind the lamp. It illuminated at least a half mile outwards, so he was able to see a lot. He was walking on asphalt, but it was already cracked and subdued to water pokémon. Around him were warped wooden benches cemented into the sidewalk, along with lamp posts and newspaper dispensers. One of the dispensers still held a copy of a newspaper, but it was old and yellowing and the ink was blurry. He could see the date though.

March 23rd, 2101.

He couldn't see the headlines. The only letters he could make out were 'SPA'.

He continued walking. There were skyscrapers with concrete walls, dull and unattractive. Reminded him of old Rustboro, the town that would never convert to cleaner, plastic-material buildings. He was glad to have left that place so fast.

He passed through an old residential street. The houses were gone, and all that were left were the mailboxes. Daniel had no idea what mailboxes were used for.

While they walked through the ancient town, Daniel placed flat light disks onto the ground. They dug into the dirt and started flashing. It was the route he was going to take his campers on once the tournament was over.

He came upon a standing old shack with the door open. Curious, he motioned Pita over and took the lamp. They entered, closing the door behind them. There was nothing inside—nothing but a bright red button on the side of the wall.

"Should we..." Daniel wondered.

Pita, excited that she found something shiny, pushed the button. Daniel panicked as the whole shack was closed in by some kind of dark metal sheet. The room started flashing red. Something was happening to the water—he could feel the pressure lessen. The water was draining. He stepped aside, noticing that the middle of the room was opening. It was a staircase downward.

_I'm not stupid enough to go down there..._He thought. Pita immediately jumped for the staircase and he sighed, following. There was light in the stairwell. He was greatly freaked out. He took the next few flights in caution until he reached the bottom.

It was another small room, with a single—what is that, a computer? It's so...ancient looking. There was also a circular table in the middle covered with a whole bunch of scattered newspapers. Whoever was here last had no intentions for keeping it clean for visitors. Still, the papers seemed to be organized systematically.

While Pita danced on the "keyboard" to the ancient computer, Daniel took a look at the papers.

Same date as the one in the dispenser—March 23rd of 2101.

"Still creeped out if anyone was wondering..." He muttered to himself. The paper here was crisp as if new. The picture on the front was what looked like a giant cruise ship liner, 10 times bigger than the Titanic, with a whole bunch of people boarding and hugging goodbye.

_First Space Colony to Take Off_, said the headline. But the next paper contradicted this one. It was 20 years later. _First Space Colony lost to Space_. And apparently, there was about a million of people, family friends and pokémon alike, all aboard the ship.

"Well...gosh..." Daniel muttered. The next few papers were printed out from the internet. They were from government websites, all decoded from 0's and 1's through firewalls and malware. It was the real story—what had happened to the colony, from their first day to the day they lost connection with Earth.

_March 23__rd__, 2101—1,000,002 registered individuals with pokémon aboard S.S. Noah Ark II. Safe take off, everyone counted, food storage full and regenerating. Tank full of gas. Estimated arrival to new planet:: 20 years._

_2102—1,000,000 registered individuals with pokémon aboard S.S. Noah Ark II. 2 deaths—1 natural, 1 due to in-fighting among passengers. Food storage 3/4ths full, food not generating. Tank full of gas. Estimated arrival to new planet:: 19 years._

_2112—999,998,344 registered individuals with pokémon aboard S.S. Noah Ark II. Many deaths due to water poisoning and air poisoning. Pokémon are becoming fidgety in space cells. Food storage is finally working again, and passengers have stopped fighting for food. Fuel tanks are regenerating with help of pokémon. Estimating arrival to new planet:: 9 years._

_2118—999,998,345 registered individuals with pokémon. Few deaths, but enough births to compensate. Food generation is beginning to be bland and pokémon are rebelling. Half tank of fuel left. Estimate arrival to new planet:: 3 years._

_2119—unknown number of people. The S.S. Noah Ark II is unresponsive and satellites have been sent after it._

_2120—The S.S. Noah Ark II has been lost to wormholes. The government has decided to mask the scandal and tell no one but immediate personal. This information is not allowed to be leaked to the public. Due to the fragile and unfamiliar nature of wormholes, we have decided not to pursue after the colony. Instead we will plan a mass funeral and tell the world that the ship has been blown up due to internal engine issues and no one survived._

The rest of the reports had nothing to do with the ark. Daniel felt lied to and disrespected. In high school he was taught that the massacre of 2121 was due to an engine in the humongous spacecraft blowing up, not because communications were lost and the government gave up. Every year on November 3rd there was a memorial dedication for the lives lost. They were never forgotten, but now it occurred to Daniel, they were never lost.

But that opened up new questions.

What happened to them?

There were different papers next, but they were printed around 2800 so it was a wonder where they found paper. It was a black market item. The headlines were foreign spacecraft sightings, "abductions", and all the things that Ross had talked about. Daniel felt a little ashamed that he had made fun of her for it.

The last thing on the table was an old notebook, doodled with pokéballs on the front. He only opened the front when something felt out. It was an old photograph. He could only see a blue blur. The writings on the page looked like they were printed by a chibi typebot.

_December 14__th__, 2852_

_I met the blue being. She wouldn't let me take pictures of her, and she threatened to burn the one that I had taken of her running away._

_She told me about the planet she came from, but not in great detail. The planet was called Marrion, and there were two sides to it. _

_There was Putuptup, a monarchy kingdom that resembled Earth medieval-times._

_And Krude, a version of our democratic regions. She was from Krude. She said the Putupupians were evil and wanted to take over Earth. She wouldn't tell me about the origins of her people because she didn't know herself, or how she looked exactly human, only with blue skin and weird lookin' ears. _

_I try to tell people about what she's told me, but no one believes me. They don't believe the proof either—the sightings, the abductions, the crop circles. No bored farmer does that to his corn stalks. _

_I couldn't find her after I told. She left a baby on my doorstep, though. That was pretty bizarre to me, since we didn't have relations. I didn't think I wanted to either—what if she has DISEASES? We don't need some kind of alien-AIDS type thing running rampant on the streets. I couldn't take the baby outside because it was BLUE...after a few years though, it gradually began losing color. It was becoming a cream-skinned thing, like me._

_Not sure what to do about these facts. When I had met the alien woman, she was cream colored too. Then we went for a swim and her skin just PEELED off like snake skin—disgusting. _

_Oh, and she told me that they called their selves Blumans. So unoriginal..._

The rest of the journal was drabble. Daniel closed it and placed it back on the table. He had so much new information in his head now, he didn't know what to do with it. He looked around the room, only to realize that the maps covering the walls meant something. A person had scribbled dates and coordinates on it and stuck pins in it.

Whoever was here last, was trying to find the planet of Marrion.

And apparently they had found it, but the coordinates were ripped off the map.

Only one thought echoed in Daniel's head, though, when he realized something. _If Blumans started showing up secretly on our earth 300 years ago, and looked just like us...what if they had integrated into our society? What if...what if half the humans on this Earth were really...Blumans?_

He reached for the styler and dialed for Megan. The water had done nothing but evaporate off of it, and when she wouldn't answer the first time, he texted her the second time to call him ASAP. Something Mr. Valacio said in the stands earlier repeated in his head.

"_How many times does she have to run away for you to go chase her?"_

* * *

><p>Irene sweet-talked James into hacking into the Tournament Hotel database. It wasn't hard; just put your arms around him and look at him with huge, Lillipup eyes and he caves instantly. He didn't even ask why either; he just did as told and gave her the room number to Brett Kuso. She could've asked Lucas where he slept, but then that would incline Lucas to ask <em>why<em>. And she didn't want him to know why.

She stood in front of his door now, hoping greatly that his girlfriend wasn't there. She knocked and was scanned by the probe in the doorframe. The door opened. Brett was sitting on one of the beds, laptop on his lap. Kari was in the bathroom showering, it seemed. She could hear donkey cries from here.

"What do you want?" Brett immediately hammered in a calm tone, shutting his laptop. "It's too late for a rematch. We could have one tomorrow."

"I wanted to ask something else." She said, stepping inside. She left the door open so he would feel more comfortable and took a seat on the chair beside the desk on the left.

"I already have a girlfriend." He replied, grinning smugly.

"Not that either." She said under grit teeth. "I saw your battle...the one earlier today. You hardly said anything to your pokémon. You just let it do whatever it felt was right."

He shrugged. "They were taught by the best, after all." It was obvious he was talking about himself.

She shook her head. "Your people must be proud." The way she said it, he had caught on instantly. He set the laptop aside.

"What do you mean by that?" He snapped.

"You're from Putuptup, aren't you? You can speak to your pokémon telepathically?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." His eyes lied.

"Where's the _real _Brett?" She pried, standing now.

"I am the real Brett." He replied automatically, as if he's been asked this several other times that he's got it memorized.

"You won't win." She taunted, now backing towards the door. "Earth is ours. Don't think we can't see your spaceships cloaked in the oceans. Those elements you used are so outdated compared to ours."

"Are you saying you're not human?"

"Hey Brett..." This new voice came from the bathroom. It was Kari, and she slid out—screamed, and scurried back in. Irene wanted to wash her eyes out. Kari was, as far as she could see, naked. "Who is _she_!" shrieked Kari behind the door.

"I'm just leaving!" Irene replied, now at the door. She looked back at Brett who was now red, either from anger or embarrassment, it didn't matter. She had the upper hand. She closed the door, watching Brett's movements as the opening gradually lessened.

_Ha! I was right and Kai was wrong. We aren't the only ones attempting to get the homeland back. _She thought as she skipped back to her room.

* * *

><p><strong>Hiya! Happy 2012 everyone! I'm glad I finally finished this chapter. It actually took me difficulty...I was stuck on the beginning, but once I got to the battles, I was on a roll. I can't promise that for the next update. I'm feeling under the weather and I really want to spend tomorrow [last day of winter break] on the projects I half-finished. Projected next update: 2-3 weeks. Hopefully by then I'll be cured from this darn cold :P<strong>

**I would like to thank **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, **_KingOfStories01_**, **_Shadow of Eckhart_**, **_BNVshark_**, and **_yamashishi_** for reviewing last chapter!**

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**

**Also, I'm going to put up the poll for the valentine picture. Most of the shippings I got were consecutive, which is a good thing, but the most voted on couple will get a 2nd picture (devoted to themselves) as opposed to the giant mesh-picture of all the couples I will do for the 1st pic. Poll will be open until next update. If you don't see it immediately, it'll be there soon. Give fanfiction enough time to put it up :P**


	25. Tri and Pi, Part 1 of 3

**Chapter Twenty-Four - Tri and Pi, Part 1 of 3  
><strong>_Day 15, Monday morning around 10am-ish. Lilycove Stadium..._

The mid-morning crowd erupted into a long chorus of rowdy applause as the final ten contestants of the tournament were levitated a few inches above the stage on flat disks. Animations of confetti exploded on the screen of the glass stage until finally returning to the historic symbol of the original red pokéball. The ten contestants stepped off the disks and looked up at the crowd in appreciation as the host waltzed up the staircase.

"Good morning Lilycove Stadium!" said Aika, grinning widely at the 360-crowd. "Welcome to day 2 of the tournament, where our 40 contestants have dwindled down to 10! Please give a round of applause to Lord Lucas, Lord James, Blacksmith Paru, Sir Nicolas, Madame Imogen, Knight Amber, Lord Jun, Prince Kai, Madame Kari, and King Brett!" The crowd was so loud that the names sounded like garbled up welsh.

"The battles for this morning are—wait for it—Knight Amber and Lord Lucas! Lord James and Sir Nicolas! Madame Imogen and Blacksmith Paru! Madame Kari and Prince Kai! And lastly, Lord Jun and King Brett!"

The ten looked among each other; it was obvious that Brett held a superior air to all of them, and it was Jun's turn to face him later. They could only hope that Brett was taken down a peg so they wouldn't have to face anything ferocious later on for the 5-on-5 battles. Aika repeated the battle schedule again for anyone who wasn't paying attention, giving the first two contestants another half hour for preparations before they squared off. After a final cheer from the crowd, everyone was released.

"You and Lucas are first." Imogen said lightly to Amber as they climbed off the stage, struggling to balance in ridiculously high heels. Behind them, Kai and Jun talked as Lucas and Brett had a stare down. Paru and Nicolas were already prancing off in their own directions and James just sucked on a sustenance pack as he tried to estimate the number of people moving in the stands by sight. Kari was pulling on Brett's arm, requesting for "alone time".

The two strange haired ladies maneuvered through the stadium hallways until they reached the main middle chamber. Nearby were the hallways that led to outdoors, across to the courtyard, and then reaching the lobbies.

Amber finally decided to answer as she yawned. She didn't get enough sleep last night. "I'm not scared. I'll beat the fresh meat."

"He's not a freshmen." Imogen pointed out.

"Oh, I know. He's a fresh _man_. Boy-man."

"Oh ha-ha. Your attempt at humor is just sad."

"You can't expect me to be violent 24-7." Amber shrugged in response.

"And then you slide your light saber out of your...where did you just pull that out from?"

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Amber replied, giving her a look. Imogen rubbed her face in dismay and shook her head.

"It's not my business." Imogen muttered, giggling lightly. "I'm going to go look for Sherry before she finds herself on top of another scoreboard." She turned around and walked off, disappearing into one of the elevators. Amber placed her light saber into one of the inconveniently placed pockets on her knight outfit and strolled out to the courtyard, stopping at the railing to see over the whole thing.

She was fidgety and tired at the same time. Trying to cure late night gaming with a heaping load of pixy sticks seemed like a crappy solution now. It was hard to keep her eyelids open and hard to stop rocking on her heels. Her eyelids fluttered closed for a second...

"Ow! Quit it Elliot!"

"Useless! You are _useless_! You lost so early in the tournament! USE-LESS!"

"What about _you_? You lost in the first round!"

Another slap perked Amber's ears. She was a stickler for drama, but it seemed wrong to eavesdrop on this one. She was familiar with the shrill voice, and something inside of her twisted into a tiny lump of concern.

"Will you quit frakkin' hitting me?" Shrieked Kay. Amber opened her eyes and located the troubling young couple. All she saw was Elliot's darkly tanned back covered in a blue shirt behind a Cyprus tree. The rest of he and Kay were hidden behind the thick amount of branches and pine needles. Kay's shriek of surprise when she was pushed into the stabbing front of the Cyprus tree had Amber instinctively reaching for the hilt to her saber.

She dropped her hand. _What am I doing? Hell, I'm not a hero. It's her problem. _She turned around, but their loud idiotic conversation was hard to ignore and there was no one else around to intervene.

"Will you two shut up!" She yelled behind her shoulder.

"Ahk!" Kay shrieked as another slap sounded from behind Amber. There was a sickening crunching sound now. "Elliot! You broke my glasses!"

"Good. Now everyone will see the scars of your failures." He said smugly.

"You mean the stuff that _you _did?" Kay replied even angrier. Amber shook her head. The treatment would stop if she quit replying.

"You want another black eye to match the other one? I can make you look like a Spinda." Elliot said. Somehow he managed to say it with a force of cruelty and seductiveness. Amber scoffed in disgust.

"Get off me." Kay ordered in a lower voice now. The conversation continued in whispering tones, and Amber strained her ears to hear. The concern built up now. Was her ex-competitor still breathing? She didn't know why she cared. The battle yesterday hardly meant anything to her.

_No_, she thought. _It was something_. She looked down at the pokéballs magnetically sitting on her belt. _If she hadn't forfeited, I probably would've lost._ Admitting this to herself angered her. And where was Imogen and Sherry? But that thought left her mind as quickly as it had come. She was thinking of other things now, like that Elliot jerk and what he was possibly doing behind that tree.

She came around the side of courtyard and climbed down the stairs, saber already prominent in her swinging hand. She took a glimpse of what was across from her. Kay had immediately noticed her presence and seemed to shrink like a dehydrated sponge. What was happening was embarrassing, and her confidence depleted. Elliot held her sides, but from the way she was cringing Amber could tell he was probably pinching.

"Get off." Kay repeated again, quieter again.

"Scared now? Want to cry and call your ugly mom-unit?" Elliot taunted, releasing her sides and standing up fully, towering over her. Kay scowled and said nothing. "Weak. Useless. That is what you are Kay, you and your bland friends."

"Why are you being so mean? I thought _we_ were friends." Kay spat.

Amber continued to walk towards them, but Elliot was turned around and didn't see her. She walked so quietly that her heels didn't click. She revved up the saber. The light materialized out, the green heat instantly radiating near her legs. It emitted a soft buzzing sound equivalent to the inside of a refrigerator.

"Why would I want to be friends with a sap like you?" Elliot retorted.

"That's a good question!" Kay replied, ready to make twist his words and blow it back in his face. "Why don't we split? You seem to be having the _worst _time!" Behind her expression, she was biting her lip.

"Why? So you can run into the arms of your multiple men friends? Minx." He accused. Kay instantly gasped.

"_Friends_! So I'm not a...a m—minx!"

As he raised his hand to swing again, Amber span the saber and _sliced_.

_WOWM. Hissssss._

From the elbow down, his arm fell clean off, plopping onto the stone ground. Kay screamed in horror and Elliot stared back and forth. The pain didn't register until a few seconds later when his pink tissue muscles glittered, and he could see the bone of his arm.

Amber smirked in satisfaction and turned off the saber.

"MY ARMMM!" Elliot howled. He made a run for the lobby, holding his profusely bleeding arm, until remembering that he left something behind. He shook his head and continued running, leaving the limb on the ground in front of Kay.

Kay stayed frozen, staring at Elliot's old forearm and fingers.

"I—I—" She tried to say, but she shut her eyes and stepped around the arm.

"You're welcome." Amber said.

"You can't just _cut _people's arms off when you want!" Kay shouted, gesturing to the arm. Amber stepped back in surprise. Why wasn't she happy? Now he has one less hand to hit her with. "Oh my God, I have to help him!" She shrieked, picking up her smashed glasses from the ground. She hesitated, reaching for the severed limb, but the idea of touching it seemed gross to her and she left it there.

Amber shrugged and walked away from the scene whistling nonchalantly.

"Hn. I try to help people and they still yell at me." She muttered, exiting the courtyard.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_I know he was mean...to many of us...but I feel we should have a memorial service. For his arm.  
><em>3 people like this

**Lexi Redstone **Huh? Who?

**James Lopreo **This is a bad idea :l

**Lucas Taylor **wth do you want to help a guy like him? Should I haul in the flashbacks?

**Jun Kirman **He may be bad, but...he had some good in him.

**Lucas Tayler **Prove it.  
>2 people agree<p>

**Lexi Redstone **I'm still confused

**James Lopreo **Elliot Jildred was rushed to the infirmary. His left arm was sliced in half.

**Lexi Redstone **OMG O_O how?

**Jun Kirman **some people are saying a pokémon attack :l

**Lexi Redstone **What about the cameras?

**James Lopreo **All of the cameras aren't working, and trust me I've tried  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

**Imogen Yale **I think I know who did it :[ it's seriously the worse thing they've ever done. Even if it was for a just cause.

**Jun Kirman **You know who did it? :O who?

**Imogen Yale **I can't say :l

**Lucas Taylor **lol I think it's pretty obvious anyway. She's hawt ;)  
>2 people like this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **Talking about me again? ;3  
>4 people accuse Sherry Brogan of trolling<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Serena Valliya <strong>_I found a pretty red button outside :P  
><em>3 people like this

**Paru **Hi. Could you refrain from spamming my news feed? Yeah. Thanks.  
>Ashka Storme likes this<p>

**Serena Valliya **Well geez, sorry, I just thought it was cool.

**Paru **frak, there are hundreds of red buttons on my friggin' remote. It's not that amazing.

**Serena Valliya **another man's trash is another man's treasure

**Paru **You're getting a sex change? Hn didn't know you rolled like that

**Serena Valliya **I'm not! :[ where would you get that from?

**Paru **honestly you'd make a believable dude  
>Lucas Taylor agrees that even his rack-spotting binoculars wouldn't help<p>

**Serena Valliya **Why are you being a jerk? :[

**Paru **I'm not the one who stole the plot of March of the Prinplups! -.-  
>3 people like this<p>

**Serena Valliya **–n–whenever I talk to you I lose brain cells  
>Lexi Redstone likes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Nicolas Wolfe <strong>_tlmkswjdsf ljkawcjks_

**Lexi Redstone **o_o?

**James Lopreo **Maybe it's something to decode...

**Amber Hendrix **Get your hands off the keyboard -_-

**Nicolas Wolfe **ffffffffffffffffffffffff  
>2 people like this<p>

* * *

><p>"Why's Paru messing with you so much on Facebook?" Lexi asked as she and her brunette friend sat in the lobby watching the screensavers on the TV fade by. Serena shifted uneasily, her lips pulling into a frown and her arms slightly crossed. She absently pulled up the top of her strapless shirt to cover her cleavage.<p>

"I don't know." She finally answered in a grumble. "He's never really liked me."

"But he's nice." Lexi whined. "How could anyone so nice have it out for someone as sweet as you?"

As endearing as she sounded, Serena didn't feel better. A sweet person wouldn't be brainstorming twenty ways to creatively drown the sideburns-possessing fellow. "A nice person wouldn't say I was a transvestite." Serena pointed out.

Lexi shook her head in dismay and leaned her head on her hand, her elbow on the arm rest. "He was just playing."

"Where is he, anyway?" Serena muttered, looking around.

"Game room..." Lexi said wistfully. Serena hopped up and started walking. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Game room!" Serena replied, quickening her pace. Vengeance was flurrying in her stride, so fiery that people she passed were intimidated and flattened their selves against the wall so there would be no possibility of being touched. The petty argument online wasn't what had gotten Serena stirred up—she was usually calm in situations like these—but he had just reposted the video of her battle with him and listed out all the negatives. His commentary was both raunchy and critical. And still Lexi somehow had a thing for him.

_If I weren't so careful about who I froze..._she thought, taking a rough left turn into a neon-blue tunnel. Two long rods ran in the middle of the wall on parallel sides, and she passed vending machines and robots and even Ashka and Gerard who were playing Bingo on one of the leisurebots.

The tunnel led downwards. To the left was the teleportation station where she assumed Lucas was preparing, and to the right was the way to some bathrooms and the game room. She turned to the right and passed through, unaware that the last thing she touched, a doorknob, froze on contact. It dropped onto the ground with a crack, only to be quickly tended by a robot with a vacuum arm.

The game room was much like a casino—purple rug with orange triangles in it, the sounds of drunken laughter and slot machines, and an explosive bass that made the floor rumble. RPG stations with mobile gear were hooked to the north walls and northwest were the cluster of TVs. Serena instantly spotted blonde sideburns and made her way to him. He was alone watching a medical drama, and she knew she'd get nothing out of him with that blinkless trance.

She slinked behind the thin wall where the TV was perched and took a look at the single clear wire connected to the screen. Making sure no one was watching, she took it in her stubby fingers and blew onto it. The spot froze at once, spreading throughout the entire fiber wire. She twisted the wire and froze it again. It was all too easy.

Paru blinked awake as his favorite show cut off. "HEY! What happened to my program? HE WAS GIVING HEART SURGERY!" While he was looking around for a 'bot, Serena ran out from behind the wall and came behind him on the couch. She tapped his shoulder. He shrieked in surprise.

She lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh. It's you." His surprised demeanor fell and he became calm and unimpressed again. "Did you want something?"

"Why did you say my Jigglypuff's Sing cracks plexiglass? And you said I was the easiest thing you've ever fought! Did you forget that _I_ was the reason you even won?"

"All you did was underestimate me." He shrugged. _Actually, her estimation was correct. I was just lucky. _He wanted to add, but he didn't intend on being nice and friendly to Serena. If it was Lexi, then sure. He'd attempt to be the nicest guy on the island.

"I gave you a pep talk! And then you soak it up like an arrogant frak!" She retorted.

"You're only calling me that because you don't have anything intelligent to say." He replied calmly. She glared, wishing greatly to rip off his sideburns. She whipped around and left for the hall, aware that the first battle of the day would be starting soon. Paru was one of the few left in the game room and went behind the wall to see what was with the TV. He picked up the wire and analyzed it in disbelief.

"Weird..." He sang, and attempted to use his hot breath to melt it.

* * *

><p>Flygon soared over the ever-present fog deep in Mossdeep city. Its smallest passenger pointed at the tall tower with red lights flashing at its top levels and the giant observatory behind it at the edge of the island. Megan shouted the directions into her pokémon's ears, trying to be heard over the rush of wind.<p>

The three landed at the foot of the entrance. A camera sitting at the corner of the ceiling zoomed in on them.

"Why are we here?" Megan asked, looking around. She didn't know what to think of this place. It doubled as a space station and a laboratory. This was where Daniel's dad worked, and she wasn't enthusiastic to run into him. She and him weren't on good terms. It had something to do with that on-and-off relationship that he didn't approve of.

Ross plucked the compacted telescope off her utility belt and extended it all the way. "They are installing the special new lens into their telescope today." She said, pointing the lavender lens to the sky. The clouds were like tuffs of lilac cotton candy. "The head ranger wants us to show them the coordinates tonight."

"If I'm free until tonight, can I take the rest of morning off?" Megan asked hopefully. "I'd really like to watch the tourney battles of my campers live."

Ross lowered the telescope and stared blankly at the sidewalk. She was thinking how nice it was to have something to look forward to. To be wanted for attention and praise. She bared a grin and looked up to Megan. "That sounds like a reasonable request." Ross said, nodding slowly. "Just come in with me and meet the scientists before you go."

Megan agreed enthusiastically and took the lead into the building, returning her pokémon with a quick flick of the pokéball while doing so. Ross's Joltik scampered behind them and clung to its trainer's back. The females were directed up a flight of escalators and across an outdoor bridge before coming upon the observatory where the giant telescope was sticking out of the glass-domed roof.

The main chamber included the ginormous tube in the middle of the room going through the ceiling and the cluster of dashboards in an O-shape below it and flat screen monitors that moved the holographic windows throughout the screens. As they were walking inside the tube was beginning to lower, and the sound was so loud and powerful that the floor moved and cut off any verbal messages anyone could have shouted.

Several people were in the room, many with white and black lab coats and some with the Sohjay jumpsuits. Megan wondered what they were doing here while Ross felt uncomfortably claustrophobic of their presence. A middle-aged man with a wonky nose came up to them, rubbing his hands together warmly. Megan grimaced.

"Megan!" Mr. Bay smiled warmly to her. "I haven't seen you in the longest time! How's my son?"

"He's doing fine." She said quickly. She didn't really know, actually. She hadn't spoken to him in days. Ross shyly stood to the side. "Oh, and this is Ross." Megan said, gesturing to the thin blonde one. Ross kept her eyes down and nodded at Mr. Bay.

"Ah. I was alerted you two were coming for the unveiling of the updated telescope. I presume you have something to show me?" He said, his tone playful as if they were children.

Ross lifted her head and said in a serious voice, "Yes. It is imperative that you install the new lens quickly so we show you the coordinates."

Mr. Bay blinked. "Big words...right...let's get to it." He left them in that spot in the outer shell and barked at the workers to haul the lens in. Megan watched curiously as the similar lavender glass was wheeled in, almost a thousand times bigger than the one Ross was harboring.

_Wasn't he working on a different project? _Wondered Megan. _I thought he did genetics and pokémon mutations. Why is he on an astronomy project?_

Mr. Bay returned with glasses of ice cold starf berry lemonade that a robot was coming around with. He offered a glass to both, but only Megan took one. Ross went off to explore and watched them replace the telescope lens up close.

Now alone, Megan probed. "What happened to the mutant?" she asked.

His ears perked. "Excuse me?"

She knew he was playing dumb. The experiment was on the down low, and technically, she wasn't supposed to know about it. Fortunately, Daniel was a blabber when he was drunk. She learned a lot, and with a cringe, some things she had no business being aware of. She said, "I know about your project. What happened to the person you melded pokémon DNA with?"

He sighed. The project was over, so there wasn't any risk he was taking by discussing it. "Eh, she ran away. And then she came back. And I released her for good."

"But isn't that dangerous?" She asked. "You know, with a little x-woman on the loose?"

"She's tame. There's no worry on that." He chuckled. He turned around at the sound of a crash. "HEY! CAREFUL WITH THAT GLASS!"

After another quick few minutes the robots had installed the glass and the telescope was elevated back through the roof. Everyone joined in the inner shell of the super computer and waited for the telescope to start up. Ross ran over to one of the outer glass walls, perched herself on top of one of the closest tables, and pointed her miniature telescope at the sky.

"Is she always like that?" Mr. Bay inquired.

"She's a cute little monkey." Megan clarified.

"Ah, like Pita?"

"Yeah, except not as blue."

Ross's stomach twisted and untwisted and retwisted into knots and whirlpools. Her small breakfast was calling to her. She could see them, the ships. They were now close enough that they were hiding in the clouds. They were so close that other spacecrafts could crash into them if they weren't careful. It was still too high for a pokémon to reach, but she had a feeling they were going to get closer soon.

Joltik sensed the erratic beating from Ross's chest and sent a mild shock through her. Ross shrieked, her back straightening. She climbed down from the table and ran back to Megan and Mr. Bay.

"They are getting closer." She whispered frantically. The two strained their ears to hear her quiet voice.

"Is that an Orrean accent I'm detecting?" said a very impressed Mr. Bay.

"You can see them through the blue sky?" Megan inquired incredulously.

"They are not in space!" Ross said desperately, fingering a strand of blonde hair that escaped from her bun. "You must look!"

"Yeah, that's Orrean." Nodded Mr. Bay. "Wait—whosa whatsit? Who's _they_?"

"The aliens!" Ross said.

"Right..."

"It is true! Stop thinking I am crazy!" She shrieked. Megan thought it was funny how she was blowing her top. She was still so short and her voice so mousy.

"Mr. Bay, I think you should take a look at the telescope." Megan said, directing him to the screens that had finished loading. "Ross and I were investigating the foreign spacecrafts that were clustering up the skyway."

"Hey, I was one of those kids once." He replied, shrugging and still non-believing. "I had rigged up my grandpa-unit's hovercycle and took it for a spin at 2000 miles above sea level. Wasn't registered for flying at that altitude, heh. Wasn't supposed to be in the skyway at all."

"Fascinating." Megan said nonchalantly. Ross politely pushed between the scientists on the dashboards and typed in the coordinates that were on her telescope into the bigger one above them. With an echoing _crack! _the telescope began to shift northwest. The images coming up were tinted in purple. Ross navigated them deeper into the clouds until they were in space. It was a black mat glittered with red, blue, and white stars so far away but so close with today's technology.

"Activate the cloak eliminator." Mr. Bay said. On voice command the computer started moving. Outside the color of the telescope's lens began to swish around slowly like molasses. On the screens new things seemed to come up, as if grime had been washed off the lens. Mr. Bay took off his glasses and rubbed it against his shirt. He said, "Are those...tortilla ships?"

"Look closer." Ross said, focusing the magnification. They zoomed onto one of the closest ships. They could see into the glass windows of the triangular-shaped ship.

"Are those people?" One of the scientists asked.

"They're blue!" said another one.

"ALIENS!" Shrieked another person, throwing papers up in the air dramatically. "The world has reached its end! It's 3012!"

"OH shut up!"

While the three scientists argued over the finding, Megan and Ross watched as Mr. Bay analyzed the screen. He placed his finger on his recently shaved mustache and felt it, wondering if it was still there. For all he knew, his mustache could be an allusion, just like those things on the screen. He's worked with hundreds of mutants—seeing blue skinned trumpet-eared people wasn't that surprising.

He began to speak and the two perked their ears. "I need one of you..." He paused for dramatic effect. "To catch me an AWOL half-human, half-Kyurem."

Ross seemed visibly startled at the sound of this combination while Megan looked impressed. She was more impressed that the experiment worked and that the person was still alive more than what it was composed of.

"I will not do it." Ross whispered, taking a step back. "I will not take someone's freedom like that."

"I'll do it." Megan said without hesitation. Ross looked at her with betrayal darkening her eyes.

"Fantastic." Mr. Bay said, clapping his hands together. "With her back, she'll be able to help us fight the impending doom."

"Who is it?" Megan asked.

"I think you're familiar with her." He said, smirking devilishly. "She's innocent little tube top-sporting Serena Valliya."

* * *

><p><strong>Serena Valliya <strong>_Sufficient line break. Hello.  
><em>Manchuria Grey likes this

**Paru **fail. How dare you break the 4th wall

**Lexi Redstone **Who's Manchuria? O.o

**Lucas Taylor **them writers let anyone in a story these days

**Paru **the world shall end. Now.

**Sherry Brogan **I found a glue stick! ;) will that fix it?

* * *

><p>The two strange haired teens glared each other down as they stepped into the teleportation tubes. Amber was confident, as always, that she would crush this punk into the ground. Lucas was weary that she was strong and that she had no morals when it came to battles. He wasn't willing to lose, but he also wasn't willing to stoop down to her level to take down her pokémon. With a flash of light, they both materialized at opposite ends of the glass battlefield.<p>

"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lord Lucas Taylor of Castelia City, Unova and Knight Amber Hendrix of Driftveil City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." A sharp cracking sound caused many to flinch, including Lucas. From all four corners of the field, tall silver rods rose and gave off a blue aura. Both trainers began to levitate off their feet.

"Oh hell! What's this?" Amber shrieked, fumbling around in the air with her legs and arms kicking in futile. Lucas found it easy to move, as if he were in an antigravity pod, and easily pulled down to the ground and then pushed off again, soaring high off the stage. He was like a graceful ballerina compared to how Amber fared. Two robots that were unaffected by the change in gravity came and collected the two trainers and pulled them back onto the ground, then acted like an anchor.

"Begin." Said the judgebot.

"Ariados, go!" Amber shouted, chucking the pokéball forward. Instead, it flew straight upwards, and the light shot out in a looping motion, unsure where to stop. Ariados formed, head smacking into the pokéball. It tittered in annoyance and used string shot to pull itself onto the ground. Amber pressed a button on her belt, and the magnetically attracted pokéball returned.

Lucas threw the pokéball in the air—it arced downwards and skipped like a stone—"Triumph Pachirisu, go!" a small white mousey-thing rolled out of the pokéball and kept on going, crashing right into Ariados. The force knocked both of them up into the air, but in the brief moment that Pachirisu and Ariados were sharing gazes, it received a poisoning glare. Pachirisu squealed in fright and curled itself into a ball, rolling endlessly backwards.

Lucas looked at the two drifting pokémon in dismay. _Antigravity sucks. This battle is going to look ridiculous. _A thought came to him and he smirked. _But if I'm off my game, then most likely so will Amber._

With both pokémon losing momentum, Amber immediately started and commanded, "Ariados use Shadow Sneak!" Ariados became a shadow and lunged into the ground, unaffected by the gravity as if it were attracted downwards. Its shadow made a move towards the spot directly below Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, roll and use Thunder Wave!" Lucas said, crossing fingers that his random strategy would work. Pachirisu closed its eyes and forced itself to go along with the sickening tumbling motion, creating more and more friction and going so fast that it became a blurry blob in the air. Blue electricity cackled around it, shielding it.

"Now! Hit it!" Amber yelled. Ariados's shadow shot out of the ground like a rocket, a black elongated blur that _missed_—or rather, was only able to hit Pachirisu's side, and both were sent flying in different directions again—Ariados, up and tumbling with electricity, and Pachirisu, out of control and towards the ground.

_CRASH. _Lucas grimaced. Oh, that had to hurt. Pachirisu face planted onto the glass and kept spinning like a glass bottle. Once the spinning finally stopped, Pachirisu's eyes started tearing up. It was so embarrassing, and everyone was laughing. Pachirisu was making a big fool of itself, always tumbling and fumbling on the antigravity field.

_Time for offense, _Lucas thought. Ariados was now floating nonchalantly, the last traces of Thunder Wave leaving it. He said, "Pachirisu use Discharge!" Pachirisu shook its head feverishly. It refused to embarrass itself any more. Lucas looked at it angrily and shouted, "Come on! We've only got 6 minutes left on the clock! We've got to win!" When he said it out loud, he sounded so full of it.

"Ariados use Signal Beam!" Amber said. Ariados attempted to push itself forward, but realizing that it was pointless, quickly charged its mandibles and released a bright yellow-green beam downwards. The force of the beam pushed it backwards, bouncing into one of the gravity walls, and ending up rebounding downwards. The beam spiraled out of control, nowhere near Pachirisu. Amber grit her teeth and yelled at Ariados to get it together.

"See Pachirisu, they're having trouble too!" Lucas said. "Come on! You can do it! Discharge!"

It didn't seem as reassuring, but Pachirisu was having great regret from disobeying its trainer and wanted to fix that ASAP. Plus, Ariados's out of control flying was heading near them. Pachirisu bunched its muscles, gathering electricity—it flipped, striking the ground with its tail, erupting lightening in every direction. Ariados was hit within seconds, sent in the direction of another wall and rebounding into the ground.

"You're getting your bug guts all over the ground, Ariados!" Amber yelled. Ariados scowled at its trainer. "Another Signal Beam!"

"Dodge!" Lucas said. Pachirisu pushed off the ground, soaring skywards while Ariados grounded itself with string shot. It pointed its face at the sky and gathered energy—the yellow beam sliced through the air again, searing Pachirisu's tail. Pachirisu squealed in surprise and started ricocheting westwards towards a transparent wall. The gasps from the crowd only made it more nervous.

Amber checked the clock. Five minutes remaining. "Finish this now! Go after it with Bug Bite!" she commanded. Ariados sighed and jumped off the ground into the air, the strings snapping under it. Ariados's fangs glinted in the morning light. Pachirisu cried out in fright and pulled its tail to its face, bracing for impact.

"It's just a bug, Pachirisu!" Lucas said reassuringly. "Go after it with Hyper Fang, head on!"

Pachirisu held onto the wall, wanting nothing but to be relaxing in its trainer's arms. Headbutting a pokémon that was coming at you with sharpened teeth was nothing in its comfort zone. What's more, it had to dodge the oncoming attack and sink its teeth into it. Time was slipping away, and Ariados was getting closer.

"Pachirisu, now!" Its trainer pleaded. Pachirisu grimaced, glancing down at Ariados who was three seconds way—shoved off the wall with its tail, heading towards it paws first—it's getting close!—tumbled, smashing its tail into Ariados's head, shutting its mouth, and caught onto Ariados's back as it crashed into the wall. Pachirisu opened its mouth wide, its fangs expanding twice its size, and chomped down. Ariados cried in pain and used Shadow Sneak to lung into the ground. Pachirisu didn't phase into the floor as its opponent did and hit the ground, sliding forward.

_It's just like that frakkin' Sableye. Too much stamina, not enough power. _Amber thought. _Ariados's next move needs to knock that rat out of the ring. _"Ariados use Shadow Sneak!" Ariados quickly jumped out of the ground, although its hitting range was far off to the side and Pachirisu flew up diagonally, crashing into the wall again. Pachirisu blinked as the metallic sound rang in its head.

"Back at it with Spark!" Lucas said, checking the clock again. 3 minutes remaining. Pachirisu nodded determinedly, launching off the wall and gathering electricity in its microfiber fur. Ariados flailed its exoskeletal legs, still resulting in nowhere—Pachirisu tackled it into the ground, and the electricity caused Ariados to freeze for a second before flailing again. As the clock ticked down to 2 minutes, the antigravity rods lowered down. Lucas and Amber both felt their normal weight again.

Pachirisu rolled backwards and cutely cocked its head to the side. Was play time over?

"Get up Ariados!" Amber yelled. It couldn't. It's legs hurt too much to get up. The red scanning beam ran over the stage. Amber continued to yell, and Lucas was embarrassed for her because she didn't realize it was over.

"Ariados is unable to battle. Lord Lucas Taylor wins." Said the judgebot.

"_No_!" Amber's shriek mimicked a Luxray's roar. She screamed and she stomped, and even one of her heels broke under her. Lucas stifled a giggle and instantly stiffened when she sent a glare across the field. Both pokémon were returned as their trainers returned underground. Lucas could still hear the crowd cheering his name, chanting 'L_u_cas, L_u_cas'.

He stepped out of the tube, fondling his Pachirisu's pokéball preciously. It had won against a real monster, and that's something. He only hoped he'd have that kind of courage in the pie battles against Brett. He knew that Jun wouldn't make it to the next round. Everyone knew. Just like Irene, he'd be beaten under a minute.

He looked over to Amber who was scowl central. Her eyes burned a hole into the floor as she stepped out of the tube, half stumbling from the broken shoe. She muttered something, arms crossed. Lucas strained his ears but couldn't interpret with her teeth together like that.

"What was that?" He said, but her scowl only deepened because she thought he was mocking her.

"I _said_,...good job out there." She said more clearly. Her face was flushed and tinted red. "You beat me...fair and square. Good going junior." It was obvious she wasn't one to hand out compliments and he accepted it gratefully. And being that he rarely won battles, it just made the victory even more sweeter.

"Hey, you did radical too." He said.

"Don't push it." She snapped. With a flick of her blonde/green-streaked hair over her shoulder, she waltzed out of the station—or at least the best she could without looking ridiculous from walking on one heel. Lucas released his Pachirisu, who immediately took form on top of his spiky hair.

"Pach!" it squeal, tail tickling the hairs on his neck.

"_You _did outstanding, my friend. Guess who's getting treated out to dots ice cream? YOU ARE!" He cheered. Pachirisu yipped in hoorah. Nothing screams victory like ice cream from the past.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_**Lucas**__, get over here. YOU'RE GETTING A HUG :D  
><em>Lucas Taylor and 4 other people like this

**Kaisei Arcan **You defeated the beast ;]

**Gerard Eckhart **There are several beasts in this tournament. Elliot, Amber, Brett...

**Jun Kirman **I agree with you on that :l but I'll try my best.

**Lucas Taylor **-_- JUN I told you to stop with this lovey brother crap

**Jun Kirman **Why? T.T

**Lucas Taylor **Because it's flamboyant

**Jun Kirman **Is it different if I say I love Kai too?

**Kaisei Arcan **#loveyoutoobro  
>3 people like this<p>

**James Lopreo **you can just feel the love here :3

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_Just saw a nice new arm. Oh hot damn ;)_

**Imogen Yale **...please...just stop.

**Lucas Taylor **Troll.

**Sherry Brogan **Elliot has a new arm ;)

**Amber Hendrix **that fast?

**Paru **it doesn't take that long to hook a prosthetic arm onto a patient. Just click and drill  
>2 people like this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **Aaaa stop...the images :S  
>Manchuria Grey likes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_If Lucas and Amber got the antigravity stage, what will __**Nicolas **__and I get?  
><em>Manchuria Grey dislikes this

**Serena Valliya **ice?

**Lexi Redstone **it's probably something they've never done before.  
>Lucas Taylor says 'no duh'<p>

**Imogen Yale **Did they already do prairie farms?

**Amber Hendrix **They should do urban blight. WUT.

**James Lopreo **How would they do that?

**Lexi Redstone **a constantly spinning stage?

**Serena Valliya **don't give them ideas. It's already making me dizzy  
>2 people agree<p>

* * *

><p>James arrived at the tunnel station relatively on time, seeing as Nicolas and his female crew were already there and waiting for their cue to go. The screens nearby were broadcasting the construction outside. A giant steel cage top was being placed over the stage, like a giant colander. It was worrying to see what he'd have to battle in.<p>

James came upon the four, waving nervously. The three girls acknowledge them in their own manner—Amber, grunting, Sherry, winking, and Imogen just smiling warmly. Nicolas said nothing as he was consumed on a riveting game of bingo on his 'Gear. He was trying to beat Ashka and Gerard's score, most likely. The three girls though continued to surround him for moral support. With them there, they knew he'll at least attempt to be sane.

_Wish I had my own cheerleaders, _James thought wistfully as he took a seat on the cold, plastic blue bench. The grate texture was uneasy on his buns and he shifted around a bit to get comfortable. Finally he found it relaxing at the edge, nowhere near Imogen who had plopped on the edge beside him. He became even more nervous than he already was. The beautiflies were spiraling in him.

"How does it look?" She asked. James looked up. She wasn't talking to him, but to Sherry who took a seat beside Nicolas and crossed her legs.

"What, the arm?" Sherry said. "Looks sexy. I like a man with see-through limbs."

"Does that mean you think Mr. Valacio is sexy?" Amber inquired in disgust. Sherry paused to think on it.

"I feel sorry for him." Imogen sighed, leaning back. James turned away. "I can't imagine losing any of my arms. Or legs. It would be too difficult to do anything."

"Eew, she's trying to go all farm-y backstory-y again!" Sherry wailed, covering her ears. Imogen chuckled and shook her head in dismay.

Nicolas looked up. "Pickles?" The three girls cooed over him and ushered him back into his little world.

James grimaced and checked the time again. Watching Nicolas eating up all that attention was sickening. He was envious and jealous at the same time. Although, if all he had to do was give up a few hundred brain cells to be as loved as Nicolas, he wasn't sure if he could do it.

_Didn't I already go over this? _He thought, closing his eyes. If those three clung to him as tightly as they did Nicolas, he knew he'd be in heaven. They all had the potentials of being great friends—each had their own quality that could serve him. Amber was a flat stomached wall of meat that would protect him from bullies like Lucas. Sherry was the teaser who could make him laugh and feel awkward at the same time. Imogen...well, he wasn't sure what she would do.

_I mean, look at her. _He sighed. She was perfect and gorgeous to him. She had nice, managed pink hair and a calm, soft personality. She worked hard, too, and pulled her weight along with others. She even dragged Amber and Sherry on a mattress with string down the hall once because they were too lazy to walk to the cafeteria. He dreamed of being with a girl like her. But he knew she'd never like a guy like him.

"Good luck out there, hm?" Imogen turned at him with those captivating plain green eyes. James stared but the locomotive didn't move. It took him a second to realize that it was time for the battle when he saw Nicolas get forced into the tube by Amber—but he was being strange and was squirming.

James nodded and quickly got into the tube, trying his best not to look at her again. He didn't like the idea of having a mental kryptonite. Whenever he had crushes, he tended to distance himself, hence why he and Lexi haven't been communicating as much. Amber finally managed to get the door shut and Nicolas banged on the soundproof glass, demanding to be freed.

With a blinding flash of light, both were gone.

Imogen sighed loudly. _He doesn't like me, huh?_

Sherry caught on. "Oh no! Depression! What is it? Middle class problems? Boy problems?"

Imogen ignored the middle class part. "Why's James acting so...weird?"

"That's how he always is." Amber deadpanned.

Imogen shrugged. _It'd be nice if he liked me, _she thought. _But he's more into those spunky, naturally beautiful types like Lexi. He'd never like a girl with guns. _She chuckled and traced her biceps as the two guys appeared on the stage.

James studied the steel cage surrounding the stage. The squares were large, large enough to see through to the audience, and a bit too large for a human to climb across. It definitely wasn't your average jungle gym. He imagined a pokémon with strong arms could climb it, but a pokémon with perfect balance could walk along the beams like a tightrope. Dangling from the steel silver beams were ropes, and at the end were circular hand and footholds at various lengths. Nicolas cowered under the shade of one of the bars.

"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lord James Lopreo of Black City, Unova and Sir Nicolas Wolfe of Driftveil City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The judgebot said. A second passed with no change because the stage was already built. "Begin."

James had the whole thing calculated. "Let's go! Skarmory!" He threw up the pokéball. The metallic bird materialized on one of the rings, using its robust claws to steady itself on the wire. He had doubts whether to use Skarmory or not. He hadn't had much training or bonding with it since it arrived on the route after Lavaridge. He could only hope that Nicolas wouldn't pull what he did with Elliot.

Nicolas pulled up a pokéball and held it out in front of him, cherishing it like a glorious chalice. "If we're going to fight..." he whispered, "It'll be with you. Go, Cryogonal." He tossed up the ball, and his weak voice still irritated him. The light shot out, forming into a mixture of a giant snowflake and African mask.

_Dammmn...uh..._James looked up at the creature in awe. It was both spooky and magnificent. And it would crush Skarmory in seconds. But he had observed Nicolas up to this point, and knew that he was emotionally weak. In battles he was more dejected. James figured he'd have to use intimidation to his advantage. For a second he almost knew what it felt like to be Elliot on the field. _He is just a little kid. _Said a demonizing Orrean-accented voice in his head. _If anyone deserves to be ahead in this game, it is you—not him. _

"Skarmory use Steel Wing!" He started, knowing that he had the type-advantage here. Skarmory flexed its gleaming wings and zipped off the ring with a heavy _clap_, diving for Cryogonal.

To everyone's surprise, the Nicolas who was afraid of his own shadow commanded a deadly move that was seldom ever used. "Cryogonal!" He cried out. "Use Sheer Cold!"

And Cryogonal's reaction time was brilliant. In a matter of nanoseconds all the jewels on its blue striped body became agleam like Christmas lights. Cryogonal opened its mouth, a blue mist steaming out like solid smoke—

"Skarmory quick dodge!" James wailed. Skarmory brought its wings up to its head, plunging downwards and missing Sheer Cold. Cryogonal closed its mouth and waited. If it was recuperating, it was hard to tell by only its heavy breathing. Skarmory fluttered its wings again before it hit the ground. It sent a narrow-eyed glare at its opponent.

Panic flashed across Nicolas's face. That move usually worked. Why didn't it work? What does he do now? _Can_ he do anything?

"Steel Wing!" James called. Skarmory moved fast as lightening this time, zipping into the sky with metallic feathers and diving towards Cryogonal. Nicolas oohed at the wings. So pretty, so glittery. Wait, wasn't he supposed to be battle? He focused back on Cryogonal—AH! Oh! Skarmory's Steel Wing had Cryogonal losing its footing—err, levitating hold—and it slid across the floor, spinning like a dish bowl.

"Cryogonal, please get up!" Nicolas cried out. James sighed. He felt like he was battling a kid fresh out of elementary school who thought it would be a good idea to start his pokémon journey at ten years old.

_Should I be a jerk and attack while it's getting up on its...knees? _Thought James. His eyes flashed to the scoreboard, where the time ticked down to 6:59:10. _It's not personal, boingo and I need to get to the next round!_ "Skarmory use Air Cutter!" he commanded. Skarmory jumped off from the ring it was swinging from and flapped its wings rapidly—

"Cryogonal, use, uh...Reflect!" Nicolas said. A transparent wall of light enveloped Cryogonal, but the orb of slicing winds merrily phased through it and smacked it in the face, and the current whipped it upwards into the nearest bar, nearly smashing its skull. "Ice...beam?" Nicolas was too scared to continue anymore. Cryogonal looked terrible.

"Skarmory, up to the top! Autotomize!" James said. Skarmory flew to the nearest concaving bars and sped up the rest, using its claws for excellent balance. As the Road Runner sped to the top, Cryogonal looked around weakly for some kind of plan. Its trainer bit his nails impishly. Both squinted, as did the rest of the crowd, as Skarmory's whole body shone brighter than any star in the sky.

Blink. Blink. James swore he saw something flash in response in the clouds.

Skarmory's beacon was also a perfect target. "Cryogonal use Ice Beam!" Nicolas finally said, spitting out crescent shaped bit off nails. Cryogonal's eyes stung but it was situated at a perfect angle to attack. It gathered the energy within it—

"Dodge!" James said. Skarmory clawed across the top of the cage with enhanced agility. Ice Beam's lights tore through the bars, freezing upon contact, and moved to try and hit Skarmory. In all its brash fleeing Skarmory ended up slipping on a frozen bar, smacking its beak on a bar and falling through the wide gaps. Cryogonal fired one more time, dinging Skarmory in the wing. Its entire left wing was frosted white and couldn't move, and Skarmory attempted to slow its decent with its other wing.

"Sheer Cold!" Nicolas commanded. He was hoping the timing was right here. Skarmory was nearly incapacitated.

James checked the time. How did it get to 4 minutes already? Cryogonal's freezer cold mouth was opening— "Skarmory, Steel Wing! It'll defrost your wings!" Skarmory did as told, holding out its wings as they warmed up to shine a brilliant white. Cracks of light found its way through the ice—Skarmory took a running start and launched into the air—

The solid stream of white smoke shot towards Skarmory—

Skarmory soared above Sheer Cold, dodging it, and looped around the cage, the ice melting from its wings. Cryogonal turned around, tackled with Steel Wing—both pokémon went crashing down onto the ground, hitting a hanging ring on the way down. Skarmory jumped back up, completely unharmed, while Cryogonal lay defeated.

Nicolas's face fell to his hands.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle. Lord James Lopreo is the winner." Announced the judgebot. Skarmory and James embraced victorious, enveloping in the loud amount of cheers from around the stadium. Nicolas smiled glumly, returning his Cryogonal.

"I'm glad it's over..." Nicolas muttered with a shy smile.

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><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_I knew you could do it :) magnificently done, __**James**__.  
><em>Manchuria Grey likes this

**James Lopreo **thank you :3 you're a true friend

**Lexi Redstone **ty  
>Manchuria Grey likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **the hell...who is he or she?

**James Lopreo **I could do some background work if that makes you feel better

**Lexi Redstone **yay :P

* * *

><p>Daniel leafed through the messages that pinged on his screen. None were from Megan, unfortunately. He knew that whenever she was working, she disconnected herself from the world completely. Trying to reach her was like throwing an old school phone across the ocean and hoping she'd pick it up. He wondered what was keeping her. How long would she be gone?<p>

Beside him, Serena reclined back in her seat with a pamphlet covering her eyes from the sun's rays. Further down in the seats, Lucas was trolling on the forums, Jun was watching, Paru was watching TV on his 'Gear, Lexi was playing Berry Ninja, James was doing extensive research on some random person, Gerard was sharing nachos with Ashka, and Ashka herself was trying to create a random sculpture out of the nacho chips. Anyone else who wasn't there was probably around the stadium.

Serena felt a twinge in her fingers. The pamphlet fell from her nose, exposing her eyes. In surprise her hands jerked back—she quickly covered the arm rests with her arms. She had frosted them.

Above in the sky, triangular shaped items were coming closer. They froze above another layer of clouds and reassessed their positions. Radiations from their fuel tanks sprinkled to the stadium.

Serena nonchalantly scraped the ice from the armrests with her fingers and dusted them onto the floor. Now she felt extremely hot when it was barely 90 degrees out here. She felt little green particles sticking to her skin like an extra layer of freckles, but the colors were her imagination. Or were they? She blinked again. Was it raining green flecks?

A cold chill ran through her. That worried her greatly. She _never _got cold chills. At least, not unless her powers had gone through the wrong pipe. Her eyes widened, realizing how far this "energy" had traveled—she shot out of her seat, alarming Lucas whose drink almost spilled—she dashed down the corridor, taking a right and disappearing inside the stadium.

Lucas and Jun swapped glances. Jun shrugged, but he made a face that translated into _go after her._ Lucas shrugged and stood up, following the path that Serena had went.

His head twisted to the side as he got further. Were those footprints of ice?

Serena nearly screamed. Her limbs were freezing over and she had no idea why! She still ran through the empty corridor, camera lenses following her direction, and she forced open the first double doors she saw and embraced the warmth of outside. She ran down the cement-stepped ledges, all the way to the edge where the railing stopped and the waves crashed almost silently.

_What is going on! _She thought, rubbing her hands together. _This has never happened before! My powers have never been out of control like this! _Her hands started trembling and within the green spots in her vision she saw her delicate cream skin morph into leathery, ugly grey skin of a monster she refused to become anymore. Before she could realize it, her other hand had changed too.

"Serena!" Called a voice from the double doors. Her eyes widened in fear to whoever would see her. She instantly recognized the voice to be Lucas's. She couldn't have him see her, not like this. She could jump into the water, but that was a fools decision. Maybe she could fly away—

And without thought, her wings burst forth from her back, long and outstanding and a rocky grey color as her skin. Half of her face was covered in a light blue colored rock, leaving only her blue eyes to be left of her humanity.

She heard his footsteps nearing, and she knew it was too late. He had seen too much. She half turned—the half with the ugly monster face—and his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets at the sight. She cursed. He saw her as an abomination—an ugly miscreation of science or God or whoever ran things around here—and she jumped, her wings slapping the ground ungracefully at once to take off.

Lucas had reached her before she could get anywhere, and he went for her hand to pull her down—or whatever that grotesque, scaly thing with claws was. When he felt it it was ice cold. She had pulled away from his grip at once, now at the mercy of the winds, and flew off into the clouds before she could be seen anymore.

Lucas looked up to the clouds, lost in whatever just happened.

And yet, he replied with a laugh and, "...Wow."

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><p><strong>Hola! I finally got things done :D Okay...well...no. I'm kinda behind a lot. Hence why this chapter was split into 2 or possibly, if it doesn't wrap up next chapter, 3 parts. Either way the story is getting to its ending point soon, I just hope the ending isn't lame<strong>

**For the Valentines picture... -_- I am so behind. I've only got half of one couple finish. I think it'd be easier if I only do one picture; I've redone the polls, so whoever hasn't voted since January 17th or so needs to revote :D we're down to 4 couples! The most voted gets a picture!...As opposed to the others that I've given up on**

**ALSO! WolfefUmbreonWarrior (AKA Ashka Storme) has drawn Daniel and Megan :D much epicly I should say. I was very impressed with how it came out. If you'd like to see it, the link is on my profile. Kudos to her :D**

**Anyway, I'm not sure when the next update will be. My writings are getting fuzzy nowadays with all this cruddy school work loaded onto me. But that is no excuse, and I will try my best to get it done by hopefully next week :D Thanks for reading! Any kind of view is greatly appreciated!**


	26. Tri and Pi, Part 2 of 3

**Chapter Twenty-Five - Tri and Pi, Part 2 of 3  
><strong>_Day 15, Monday, around 1pm at the Mossdeep Research Facility, underground computer labs..._

"What have you done to her?"

Accompanying Osmond Bay in the basement where the research of his past projects were was Ross Evangels, small and brittle in comparison to his heavy-set, late middle aged appearance. Mr. Bay sat at the head of controls to another one of the supercomputers, the entire blue-shaded dashboard in the shape of a U, closing the two into a wall. Holographically spinning in the middle of the room was a depiction of Serena, where they could only see her from a pinpointed graph-view. Beyond the hologram copying Serena's current movements was a glass wall, and beyond the wall were dark blue waters. A Sharpedo passed by and snapped its dual rowed teeth at them.

"What do you mean, 'done to her'? I've done a lot." Mr. Bay retorted sarcastically.

"Those things, running through her blood steam." She said, tracing the air where the little dots on the hologram flooded. "Those were not there before. You pressed a blip and they just spilled out from somewhere."

Mr. Bay span his chair to face her. "Yes well, you see, I had to trigger the power inside of her. If I don't, then she won't be back here."

"But you sent Megan after her."

"Everyone needs a motivation." He grinned malevolently and span back to the controls. "She has nanobots inside of her that help me control her powers. I've had them activate so she'll be out of control. And with that fear in mind, I'm one hundred percent positive that that her go-to is me."

"What does this do?" Ross's fingers hovered over a holographic button.

"That shuts off her nervous system." He replied carelessly. She gasped and inched away from the dashboard.

"You can control her entire body?"

"In a way, yes." He shrugged, eyes pointing at the ceiling in contemplation. "I've got to have a way to control her, after all. Even if the project is on hiatus, I need to know that she's alive and healthy." Ross stood quiet. Mr. Bay continued to ramble as if he hadn't talk to anyone to open up to in years. "I've tested on many babies." He said. "Only one percent survive from the gene fusing. Really sad, the number of funerals I've had to make in the incinerator. I just got tired of 'em all and tossed the dead babies in a pile until they've accumulated. Or, well, you know. When people find out."

"That is horrible." Ross whispered. Such a thing was unimaginable. How many lives were lost for the outcome of Serena? How many dead baby bodies are still rotting under the laboratory?

"I know right?" He grinned nevertheless. Ross began to think he was an unethical creep. "Only 5 survived the first stage. 3 died in the morphing stage. Only Serena lives with Kyurem genes still intact."

"I do not want to know." Ross said, clamping her fists over her ears. "Stop telling me these things."

"That accent makes it really hard to keep a straight face." He laughed. He excused himself to get some coffee upstairs, leaving Ross alone at the controls. She waltzed around the desk, approaching the holographic figure of Serena and her beautifully strange wings, pumping up and down and gliding like a real Kyurem.

_Run, bird, _she thought, willing her thoughts to the hologram in hopes that she was an influence. _Do not ever come back. Never. Do not come back to hell, or he will burn you thrice as hot than last time._

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_Think I might need my binoculars checked  
><em>2 people like this

**Jun Kirman **why?

**Lucas Taylor **...you don't want to know.

**Jun Kirman **aww :l okay.

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><p>"We've never formally met." He kept his eyes on her pink hair instead of her smiling green eyes. "I'm Imogen." Her grip for shaking hands was awfully strong for a girl. He winced inwardly and outwardly gave her a pitiful smile.<p>

"My name's Paru." He said, nodding in acknowledgement and reclaiming his throbbing hand.

"What do you want to be?" She asked. "When you graduate the academy?"

Strange question. No one often asks him that when they first meet. At least, not someone who didn't bother to care. "A doctor." He said, the answer coming out shy. The fact that their circles, hers being wide and his being inches in radius, hardly graced each other was highly aware in his mind. He continued, "I know it's what everyone says they want to be, and with technology these days, anyone can do it. I want to do it the old school way. I want to go through the 8 or more years of medical school to get it right." He cast his glance away, realizing he was beginning to ramble. "A machine's hand is always colder than a human's."

"That's great." She said. Her grin was genuine, surprisingly, and she didn't seem bored. "The world always needs more doctors. Those stupid plagues are everywhere nowadays."

"Yeah..." He scratched his head. The conversation dissolved into awkwardness. What should he say next? Talk about his favorite TV show? He doubts she speaks Spanish so how would she know about it? Maybe he should just ask about herself. _Yeah_, he thought. "So uh...what do you want to do? When you, um, graduate."

"I dunno." She shrugged, the side of her lips pulling to a frown. "I keep thinking I want to work on the ranch, but it's not work. All we do is program the robots to do most of the work and then lay back the rest of the day. Maybe I could become a robot engineer."

He nodded absently. He was horrible at this. He didn't care at all or half-listen to whatever she just said. "Sounds like a good start. Maybe that James guy could help you with that."

"Really?" Her face brightened at the idea and he mentally cursed for continuing the conversation. When would their battle start? She didn't forward the conversation like he thought she would—Imogen just looked at a spot on the wall, smiled, and daydreamed. Something along the lines of she and James wearing overalls and both covered in black oil stains from creating their own robots.

The teleportation tubes made a sound of revving up and the two instantly took their spots inside. They shared another glance before the flash of light.

Paru shielded his eyes with his hand, now at the right end of the battlefield. It took him a while to locate his fellow campers, sitting in the middle rows of section C. The judgebot's neutral voice boomed from the speakers.

"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Blacksmith Paru of Castelia City, Unova and Madame Imogen Yale of Viridian City, Kanto. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The stage widened, loosening the footing of the trainers. The inner area hollowed out downwards until the entire field represented a metal mixing bowl with several footholds, some only big enough to place a paw on. The flat land at the bottom was only so wide, so if the pokémon were stuck there they would most likely only be able to do short-range attacks. "Begin."

Imogen thrust a silver striped pokéball into the air. The top half popped open, and the light hit the bottom of the bowl, forming into a black zebra-like pokémon with an intimidating spiky white mane. Paru gulped. He had never seen a Zebstrika in Imogen's possession. He assumed she only had the one Cottonee she held dear, but it made sense that she would keep other pokémon back home on the ranch instead of stuck sitting idle in their pokéballs. He wondered why she decided to pull it out now, in round 3 of the tournament.

Of course, he had no intentions of winning the battle. He wasn't even sure how he got this far. Still, Lexi's shoulder-touching pep talk before he strolled down the teleportation wing buzzed within him. If he was going to win, he was going to win for her. Paru sighed and plucked the pokéball from his belt. "Ven, Miltank." He tossed the pokéball up. A thick cow popped out, sliding to the bottom of the field. Zebstrika whinnied and stomped its front paws on the metal.

_Yep, I can see the frakkin' advantage from here. Stupid bowl field. _Thought Paru. He nodded at Imogen, allowing her the first move. It was common sense for the faster pokémon to go first. Did she think that a 200-lb cow could possibly be faster than a thunder race horse?

"Zebstrika use Flame Charge!" Imogen said. Zebstrika cried out, eyes forever narrowed in concentration, and began an endless relay lap around the wide slanted walls of the bowl, generating electricity and fire within its fine-grained fur.

Paru's eyebrows skyrocketed in surprise. Zebstrika wasn't _that _fast, but it picked up speed as it went, and its hoofs were pounding so hard that he could feel the vibrations in his feet. _I suppose I should do something..._he thought, noticing Zebstrika leaning nearer to the level ground. Embers sparked across the black horse's fur until finally, the flames ignited and it was engulfed completely. Zebstrika made a direct course for Miltank, just standing there.

"Defense Curl!" Paru called. Miltank curled itself into a ball just as Zebstrika tackled—in surprise she fell out of the shape and rolled across the little space available, but at most did not seem to be effected by the flames.

It was Imogen's turn to be impressed. She thought she'd have fried that thing into a burger by now. She didn't realize Paru was just working on whim. She thought it was his plan to just sit back and wait. Well, she didn't have time for that, since the clock ticked down to 6 minutes. "Zebstrika use Shock Wave!" She shouted. Zebstrika turned, narrowed eyes turned to a glare at its trainer. She recoiled slightly at the way it looked at her.

_Not sure what I'm seeing here..._thought Paru, thoroughly confused now. Both pokémon stood dumbstruck in the tiny area, unsure what to do now. Zebstrika was given orders but was not following through. Miltank watched in fascination as Zebstrika gathered sparkling hot white electricity in its mane.

"Zebstrika!" Imogen called, suppressing her aggravation. Zebstrika plowed forward—the white lightening shot in all directions, rebounding off steel walls and creating an exciting light show that wowed the viewers. Only a sliver of that lightening graced Miltank—but that was enough to freeze her body completely rigid.

_That was Thunder Wave, _Paru analyzed, moving his head around to see better as the lightening started to fade, _a helluva flashy one, but it was. If it was something else, it would've caused damage._

Zebstrika cried out again, this time seeming to carry out its trainer's primary orders. It went to running across the side of the slanted floor again, so fast that the sound of its running reverberated to thunder crashing, causing many, close and far, to flinch. Miltank stay still, unable to move its limbs more than a fraction, becoming the perfect target.

"Miltank! Heal Bell! Salud!" Paru said over the thundery sound. "Hurry before it reaches you!" Miltank cringed, pulling its arms up. A light materialized above its own small hooves, forming into the shape of a bell. It dropped into her hand and she shook it, shook the bell as vigorously as she could. Instantly the paralyzing effects forced itself out.

Zebstrika came out suddenly and headbutted Miltank. She dropped the bell.

It shattered into thousands of glittery, transparent pieces.

"Zeb!" Zebstrika cried out—lightening erupted out of it again, thicker and more powerful than before, coming out in waves like a sea of white jagged foam. Unable to dodge it, Miltank was consumed whole.

_It's over, right? _Imogen thought, crossing her fingers.

"I'm bored. Let's try offense." Paru muttered. He saw through the field before the light faded. "Miltank! Body Slam!" The electricity jolted abruptly to the left, indicating that that was the direction that Miltank had slammed Zebstrika into. As the light faded away, Zebstrika lay on its side like an overturned turtle and attempted to pull itself up before the scanner assumed it defeated.

Imogen grimaced and took another look at the clock. 4 minutes. "Flame Charge again, Zebstrika!" Zebstrika took off for another run, but by the looks of it no flames were being accumulated. She groaned. She just _had _to use one of her new untamed pokémon.

"Body Slam!" Paru called. "Try it again!" Miltank hesitated, attempting to jump into the path that Zebstrika was running, but once it got near she chickened out and climbed to a foothold, barely grazed by the electricity lighting up Zebstrika's coat. As it came around for another lap, Miltank jumped—

The large cow landed on top of the horse—Zebstrika instantly crumbled, legs bending in unnatural directions as they both slipped down the side. It and Imogen certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"Again!" Paru said, amazed that he was actually getting an upper hand. Zebstrika's pain didn't register to him. "Miltank, Body Slam!"

"Zebstrika!" Imogen called, face distressed. She couldn't call anymore moves. Miltank took her big gut and slammed into Zebstrika again, sliding it across the stage like a slippery rock that didn't try to stop itself. Zebstrika fell on its side, eyes squinting in pain. It's tail fell flat and Paru held his tongue before he called another Body Slam.

The red scanning light invaded over Zebstrika. Four 'bots in the shape of cones flew in from all corners of the stage and created a steel stretcher.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle. Blacksmith Paru is the winner." Droned the judgebot. Applause boomed out, but Paru noticed that Imogen was awfully forlorn looking, and it wasn't because of her loss. She followed the ERbots off the stage and towards the infirmary.

Paru looked up guiltily to his fans before he was blinded again, Miltank automatically returned. He returned back to the teleportation station alone.

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><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_OMG __**Imogen **__you witch! You had a horse and never told me!  
><em>3 people dislike this

**Ashka Storme **I thought it was pretty cool. It was strong.

**Jun Kirman **too bad it broke all of its legs :l

**Ashka Storme **Is that what happened?

**Amber Hendrix **those legs were like crab legs. Weak  
>Imogen Yale dislikes this<p>

**Sherry Brogan **she's not talking to me now :[

**Paru **I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...

**Amber Hendrix **I'm surprised that you're actually sorry, but you don't have to be. That thing was going to break eventually

**Sherry Brogan **I'm nearing the hospital wing :[ I think I can hear her crying

**Paru **oh God you guys...what's her G-code?

**Sherry Brogan **like hell I'd tell you, jackass :[  
>Lucas Taylor and Amber Hendrix likes this<p>

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><p>Paru buried his head in his hands, sighing to himself. Lexi joined his seat on the steps to the courtyard and handed him the slurpee she promised. The two sat in silence, he staring at the garnet and indigo cobblestone path and she staring ahead to the trees dotting the place. There was a fountain under the archway that also held up part of the building. Beyond the arch and the fountain was the beach and the quiet seaport.<p>

"Want to talk about it?" Lexi said awkwardly, aware that he was brooding about what happened half an hour ago during his battle.

"No." He muttered. "I become a motorboat when I try to explain myself."

"We've got time." She shrugged. "Go on. Speak."

He grimaced, wanting nothing but to be watching TV on his 'Gear right now, isolated in his hotel room where there were no disapproving glares or other doomed interactions. He felt so bad. Imogen was so nice to him, and he fought so brutally. He hadn't meant to. It just turned out that way. How was he supposed to know that dropping a cow on the back of a horse would hurt it like that? Now Zebstrika would be out of commission for a few weeks. The nurses said that it should still be able to walk, but it was too scared to.

He muttered something. Lexi stretched her ears to hear. She groaned. He just opened up, and she couldn't decipher his words!

"What?" She asked politely.

He blushed. It seemed like such a superficial thing to care about. "Everyone hates me..."

"No they don't." She retorted automatically. She didn't believe in hate. She believed in strong dislike.

"I should've just stayed home." He grumbled. "I had a 64 inch flat screen with a helluva a clear picture, movie theatre surround sound, and 3D capabilities. I can't get that schist on my 'Gear."

"Did you just say schist?"

"That's not the point Lady Lexi."

She giggled inside that he still referred to her as her medieval character. She hardly believed a medieval teenager wore tank tops and short shorts with gaudy boots in 90 degree weather. "So your only regrets to coming on the trip is that you can't watch your soaps in high def?"

"That..." He said, "And...well...everyone is already in their niche. Ifitnowhere."

"What was that last part?"

"All of you have your groups. Amber, Imogen, Sherry, Nicolas...Lucas, Jun, Irene...You, Serena, James...Ashka and Gerard..."

She blinked. "You caught onto everyone's schist in the short amount of time you've been with us?"

"You just said schist."

She shrugged, looking up at the faint blue sky in reminiscence. "We've all been together since the beginning, that's all..." she sighed. "It wasn't all daisies when we met. There was a lot of crap between people. There still is. Friendships formed, friendships broke, hell...it's still hard for me and Ashka to get along. We're only so tight between our friends because they're the _only _friends we have out here. Once you've got your wall of friends, nothing can hurt you. At least, not that badly."

"I guess it's so tight that I couldn't find a way in." He muttered, already accepting it as a fact. "I couldn't befriend the juniors. They're frakkin' immature and talk about the stupidest topics. Couldn't talk with the triad of girls because they're too hooked on Nicolas and sticking together. Ashka and Gerard..."

"Those two have been through everything. They won't interact with anyone but between themselves." She shrugged. "You'll get used to it. Ashka acts bossy, like she's automatically the leader whenever Mr. Daniel isn't around. Gerard keeps the juniors in line."

Paru nodded in understanding. "How much have you guys been through that you fall into your rolls without as much of a sign?"

Lexi chuckled. "Do you _want _me to list it all?" He nodded, and she took a long sip of her lemonade slushie. "Wellll let's see. We all started off mutual at the airport. We went to Rustboro and did our separate things. We started traveling on the water routes in these rafts that were cramped as hell. Things were quiet then too.

"Then we had a campfire that night and got to know each other. Not all of us opened up that much but we at least were able to put names to faces. I accidentally called Jun _Lucas _once. Hehe. My mistake. That put me in an awkward position.

"Then we started on the road again and came in contact with this crazy bad Milotic. Although we couldn't exactly fend for ourselves, it was the first time we acted like a team...or at least a broken one. We all had our electric pokémon out and trying to zap the thing. Ashka had the guts to swim in that virus infested river to get some of the bags that had fallen out of our rafts. I think that was the first time we all began to trust her." She said, smiling under the straw. "She had risked her life for something as petty as our things. I don't know about the others, but it gained _my _respect."

"Hell, if she saved my iPad, I'd respect her too." Paru remarked.

Lexi smiled appreciatively that he was actively listening and continued the story. "We got to Verdanturf. We watched a pokémon contest, and Irene, blue haired girl, entered it. I've never gotten close to her, she just so...wild. A little crazy, but the good kind of crazy. She's a real party animal too. Ashka and Gerard though, they're just so...suspicious of her."

"Did she rob a bank?"

"Neh, I don't know what's wrong with them." She shrugged. "Then James drove us to Fallarbor town. He was awkward then as he is now, less friends then..." she looked down guiltily. "I was one of them. I was scared, I thought he was some crazy mad scientist...sometimes I think he's just like the rest of us, scared and alone...and then he does weird things, like ask me for a strand of my hair."

"What did he do with it?"

"Dunno. We met Rodolfo's kids in Fallarbor. We were a scrambled bunch of acquaintances and their superior attitude really got us angry." A scowl appeared on her face from the memory. "We met Sherry first. She started flirting Gerard from table IM."

"Was she trolling?"

"Of course! Always! She made me nauseous." She admitted. "And then Mr. Daniel went and screwed around with us and made us camp with them on one of those mountains near Mt. Chimney. That mountain was unstable and I'm surprised James didn't lose an arm from the amount of drama that came with climbing."

He looked down at her boots. "To be fair, you aren't wearing appropriate footwear for mountain climbing."

She laughed. "Look, it's too late to change the past! Anyway, so we made it to the top of the mountain..."

"Unscathed?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. And then the volcano a few miles away BLEW UP! Crazy!" She saw him grinning at her outrageous hand motions, and that made her blush sheepishly and retract her arms. "We were fine, though. We relaxed in Lavaridge for a few days. My Deino hatched. Oh, did I mention Ms. Megan's group wasn't with us since Verdanturf? Yeah, they weren't. If they were I'm sure Lucas would've hit it off with Sherry right away."

"They're not so friendly now." He pointed out.

"Yeah, that's because Facebook ruined it for them. Then—oh my God, the _worst _thing ever. Gerard went missing during a magnetic storm. He was found mid-storm, but he lost his memory! I mean seriously, how does this crap happen in real life!"

"I've seen it on TV. Doesn't he have his memory now?"

She nodded. "Yeah, now he does, but I don't remember how. In fact, there was this whole lapse in my own memory...I don't know how, one moment I'm at the bullet train in Mauville, and then I'm at the pokémon center in Fortree! I mean, in between, it felt like I was asleep..." her lips twisted in confusion. Paru shrugged. He couldn't decipher would could've happened. "And then...well...you came."

"You sound so unenthusiastic." He deadpanned.

She smiled reassuringly. "All this crap has happened on our journey, you know? It's hard to let more people in. I know it's partly our fault for being so cold...but you haven't been so outreaching either."

Another silence fell between them, this time with a sting of hurt pinching into Paru's side. He became aware that their kneecaps were touching and abruptly moved his leg. The tingly feeling where he wanted to move closer at every one of her rosy-pink smiles faded away.

"I reached out to _you_." He said after a while, his tone hushed over the sound of various 'bots roaming the near empty halls.

"That's true." She replied. "I guess I haven't been that good of a friend either. I've been trying to devote time to Serena and James...I feel like I owe it for them being so nice to me. Lord knows how many insults I get from everyone else." Her glance downcasted. Paru had an itching feeling to slap silly the person who insulted someone like her.

"Wanttogoseeamovie?" It all came out in a fast blur, but she had been paying attention this time and the spark in her eye was not well hidden. Neither was the coyish smile.

"What about the tournament?"

"Do you _really _want to see a battle between that Kai guy and Kari lady?"

She mulled it over in her head. Yeah, she wasn't that hyped to see a battle between strangers. She stood along with Paru.

"Alright, let's go see a movie then." She nodded, ignoring the giggles welling within her like a geyser. They walked in sync to their next destination. Paru's grinned the whole way, completely forgetting that she still only saw him as a friend. For now, he was fine with that. It was really all he needed to survive the rest of the campers.

* * *

><p><strong>Irene Connor <strong>_**Kaisei **__where you at bro? I needa talk to you_

**Lucas Taylor **Do not ever speak like that. Again  
>3 people agree<p>

**Irene Connor **But you guys talk like that...

**Lucas Taylor **Because we're MEN! Well, almost everyone

**Jun Kirman **I know you're talking about me T.T

**Kaisei Arcan **Can it wait until after my battle? #I'mreadytothrowdown

**Irene Connor **No. Get ur ass up here

**Lucas Taylor **:OOO OHHHHHH

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_Hey, let's go watch the battle from the observatory deck __**Gerard  
><strong>_2 people like this

**Gerard Eckhart **ok

**Lexi Redstone **date? O.o

**Ashka Storme **No. that is what you and Paru are on

**Lexi Redstone **no we're not -.- we're watching some sci-fi movie from 2009. It's a classic ;) Avatar ftw

**Gerard Eckhart **I think it's pretty cool that you and Paru are going out :)

**Lexi Redstone **omg we are not stap it /

**Ashka Storme **You're going to need to google translate that for me, I don't speak blonde  
>4 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_GO TEAM __**KAISEI**__!_

**Lucas Taylor **KARI!

**Jun Kirman **Kai!

**Lucas Taylor **Kari!

**Jun Kirman **Kai!

**Lucas Taylor **can you pass me the popcorn?

**Jun Kirman **sure  
>Amber Hendrix dislikes this pointless conversation<p>

* * *

><p>Irene's face was pointed up at the sky, her eyes covered with lavender racer shades. The glass that was in Ross's telescope, and the same glass that was recently installed at the Mossdeep Research Facility, was now sitting on upon the bridge of Irene's nose. She swept back her blue hair, squinting through the shaded window walls of the observatory.<p>

In the sky, she saw the ships. At this point she couldn't tell the difference between her fleet and the Putuptupian fleets, as they were both the same models. She scoffed. _Damn pups, _she thought, _copying all of our ideas._

The elevator across the room whizzed opened, silver-haired Kai walking out with hands in his pockets. The stress was getting to him, with all the plotting. He hid his stress behind his own pair of sunglasses. He cut across the galaxy-depicting carpet and stood precisely one foot away from Irene. And yes, he had measured that.

"Code word: Donut." He said.

"We're done with code words." She replied.

The observatory deck faced two directions in two separate sections; one, facing the stadium and battle grounds, and the other facing a cliff to the ocean. A dark-haired teen tiptoed to the edge of the wall of the hall connecting to the two sections and observed Kai and Irene.

Gerard put a hand on Ashka's shoulder. She jumped in surprise, turning to face him. She put her fingers to her lips, shushing him.

"This isn't right." He whispered.

"I know they're up to something. Quiet so I can hear." She hissed back. The observatory deck was mostly empty because the rest of the audience was already in their seats, waiting for the next onstage.

"You know Brett, Lucas's cousin?" Irene started in a low tone.

"Yeah, the guy running as king. I'm going to crush him in the pie battles."

"Yeah, whatever." She said carelessly. "So I confronted him last night—I had a suspicion he wasn't _human,_ if you know what I mean. I think he has telepathy. He can send his thoughts into his pokémon so he doesn't have to call his moves."

"You're insane and put _way _too much thought into this." Kai replied, leaning on the bar attached to the glass wall.

"Also, when I left his room, the door slammed shut. But when I left, he was at the bathroom door. See where I'm going with this?"

"...No?"

Irene sighed and swapped their glasses around. She pointed up at the sky and Kai took a gander.

"Alright, ships..._holy_, what are they doing so close? I didn't tell them to do that." He sounded irritated that his authority wasn't instilled in the ship captains.

"Those aren't ours." Irene said. "Those are the Putuptupians."

Kai's eyes widened behind the glasses. "_What_? How did _they _get here? And with OUR ships! They live in an undeveloped country!"

"Brett's their leader." Irene said, although she wasn't so sure. "And I don't think it's the real Brett either. It might be a ruse ."

"Hold that thought." Kai said, putting a hand up. "It's time for my battle." He swiftly left for the spiral staircase that encased the elevator. Irene sighed and watched him leave. She transitioned to the other section of the deck, using the left hallway, to the relief of the snoopers who were in the hallway to the right.

Ashka still hid behind the fake ficus.

"See what I told you? Aliens. World domination." She said to Gerard, whose face became stoic. "They need to be stopped."

"And what would we do?" Gerard retorted, pretty much blank on thoughts at the moment with all the new information. "No one is going to believe us."

Silence hung in the air and Ashka sighed. He was right. If they told anyone what they heard, they'd be called as crazy as Ross.

* * *

><p>"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Madame Kari Damon of Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh, and Prince Kaisei Arcan of Driftveil City, Unova. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." The glass stage opened and another stage below it elevated up, completely covered in grass. There were several spots in the grass that were thicker in the rest, thick, thorny tendrils that seemed to be alive and moving. The grass in the middle was very tall, almost ten feet tall, and spread out to almost a third of the field. "Begin."<p>

"You got this, Rotation!" Kai threw up a pokéball, releasing a brown and red, dangerously looking mole onto the grass.

Gracefully, Kari lobbed a pokéball into the air crying out, "Go, Pikachu!" A cleanly brushed yellow rat popped onto the grass, lipstick-red cheeks sparking.

At once the battle began, and sphere-shaped videobots began shooting from various angles for TV viewers. Pikachu sped off first, tail wagging behind it, as it got ready for an Iron Tail. It ran into the heavily tall grass, Iron Tail's glow masked. Excadrill was sent out at once to do Drill Run. With a sound equivalent to two swords clinking against each other, Excadrill came ramming out of the other side of the grass and Pikachu flew up into the air like a missile before crashing back down in the grass with a plop.

Kai chuckled darkly, calling for an Earthquake. He felt the battle in his fingers. This was just too easy.

Kari thought on her feet. She commanded Thunder Bolt, one that danced under Pikachu's feet. The bright white bolts propelled Pikachu harmlessly up into the air as the ground began shaking violently, fissures splitting and cliffs rising out of nowhere. On the way down, Pikachu's tail glowed silver. Excadrill reacted by protecting itself with its drill-claws, and used the momentum to toss Pikachu into a hard cliff wall. Pikachu winced and slid down it like a decayed fruit.

_The lightening trick was interesting. _Kai noted as the battled continued without his command. Pikachu was revving for another Iron Tail. _I didn't think of using Thunder Bolt like that. I can't believe it worked either. Ugh, I hate battling coordinators..._

"Excadrill use Sandstorm!" He yelled.

"Now, Pikachu!" Kari cried.

Pikachu bolted forward, at the same time that Excadrill span like a dreidel, whipping sprinkly cloths of sand from out of nowhere. Pikachu was lost in the dust and coughed, the sandy wind already picking up, and Iron Tail faded away. Excadrill ran into the tall grass to hide as Pikachu squinted around in the confusion, getting sand in its eyes.

Earthquake was done again, and this time a fissure cracked beneath Pikachu's feet and gulped it down, crushing it utterly. Pikachu let out a cry of defeat, and the red scanning light searched for it through the dust storm. Earthquake continued to squeeze it like a pimple. Excadrill couldn't stop it. Once it was done, it was out of his hands. Kai couldn't see what was happening either. All he could hear was a shriek.

Once the dust settled, the red light pounced onto the massive gap in the middle of the stage. Kari gasped, covering her eyes with her hands. 4 ERbots appeared and scooped Pikachu out of the situation. It's condition was nothing savory, and the videobots were directed away from its banged up body.

"Pikachu is unable to battle." Declared the judgebot. "Prince Kaisei Arcan is the winner."

Kai grinned as he returned his pokémon, accepting the shower of applause and screams from the crowd. Kari was seething with rage, bottom lip bit and eyes flaring. The anger was something she didn't do often but the situation called for it. Kai had gone too far.

Kai looked back with a blank expression as they were teleported back to the station.

He left, leaving her with this: "It's a tough world out here in the world of _trainers_, Kari. If you can't handle the heat, stay out of the incinerator."

Her reply was silently cursing him in every acronym she knew.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_battles are getting intense :l injuries are getting worse. I hope it won't happen to me...  
><em>3 people like this

**Lucas Taylor **Hey, you're going to be against Brett. It'll be like pulling off a bandage. The pain will be quick.  
>Irene Connor agrees<p>

**Jun Kirman **You don't even believe I have a chance...? T.T

**Lucas Taylor **Honestly...no. You've come to the end of your crossroads.

**Kaisei Arcan **Hey, everyone has their slipups. #likethatSerenachick

**Jun Kirman **THANKS, Kai :) I know at least one person has faith in me

**Lucas Taylor **was the capitalization really necessary?

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>_thanks for the concern guys :) my Zebstrika will be fine. He's home now._

**Lexi Redstone **that's a relief :P I'd hate to know that someone lost a 'mon.

**Sherry Brogan **YAY! Can we celebrate with ice cream? ;)

**Gerard Eckhart **I'm really glad your Zebstrika wasn't permanently damaged.

**Imogen Yale **thank you :3 losing Zebstrika would be like losing Amber.

**Lucas Taylor **I wish...lol joking  
>Amber Hendrix dislikes this, Ashka Storme likes this<p>

* * *

><p>Long, white crystal blue wings flapped against the musty summer air, high above the waters and straining themselves against the air current. Serena struggled to keep herself aloft as she scrolled through her 'Gear map, looking for a solid piece of island to take a rest. The only place in radius was Lilycove stadium, but she couldn't return—and with Lucas seeing her ugly form, she didn't know if she could face him ever again.<p>

She kept flipping between Google Maps and Lucas's Facebook page. Why wasn't he making status's about her? Wasn't he freaked out? Didn't he want to tell everyone?

The 'Gear vibrated. A video-call request icon appeared with Lucas's picture.

"AHH!" She shrieked, her claw tapping on accident—the screen flashed to half his camera, half hers—she dropped the 'Gear, and she plummeted after it—

_Plop._

_SPLASH._

Serena grasped the drifting phone in her hand and swam back to the surface, looking into the webcam with shame. Lucas had an expression of surprise mixed with fear. She treaded in the freezing cold water and ungracefully spat the salt water out of her mouth, spraying the webcam.

Cough. "Hey, Lucas." She smiled bashfully. "I'm sorry you have to..." she gave herself a one-over. "...see me like this."

"Which?" His voice echoed. She winced, oh she had gotten water in her ear. "The creepy view of the ocean or the creepy view of your face?"

Her heart sank at harsh way he said it. He must think she's an ugly beast now. He'll never like her again. She thrust the thought to the side. Why did she even _care_?

His face softened as she lifted a scaly hand to her face and wiped her eye. The background of his screen was a hotel room and a window behind him, so bright that it gave him a glow. He sighed. "I didn't mean it like _that_...in fact, I'm not sure what I'm seeing...Are you...alright?" He hesitated. "Maybe you should get out of the ocean."

"I'm fine." She snapped abruptly. The cold didn't bother her. "Don't tell anyone what you saw, alright?"

"I can't tell anyone?" He whined. "But it's so COOL! You have wings! And a facemask!"

"No, that's my real face..." She muttered, her only human skin blushing red.

"It's still cool!" He replied. "Does it go away?"

"I don't know, I think it's stuck..." She said. "If anyone else found out...again..."

"Again? Who else knows?" He inquired, his face getting closer to the camera. A wave washed over Serena and she gasped for air. He looked worried, but her returning smile reassured him.

"The first time everyone found out, there was a region-wide memory erase." She said. "That's why you don't remember. You're not supposed to know."

"What are you?"

"I'm human."

"Doesn't look like it..."

She glared at him. "Don't tell, got it? I'll freeze you if you do."

He backed up a bit, eyes wide. "Okay, WOW. Fine. That was sexy there, that threatening thing."

"Eew, Lucas." She said, trying her hardest not to grin.

"Are you coming back?" He returned back to seriousness. "I won't tell anyone, promise. I'm not even sure what you are, but hey, you still haven't done as much damage as Amber. Whoever gave you those wings must know that they put them in the right hands."

She found herself turning pink again and held her breath as another wave rocked her treading body. She found it harder to stay afloat. Her wings had retracted. She looked at her fingers in surprise. They were beginning to turn to cream skin again.

"Thanks Lucas..." she trailed off. "I better...umm...swim back to the stadium then."

"Good." He grinned and got off his bed, the window glow leaving. "I'm going to go save you a seat at the bleachers, 'kay? Then we'll talk about becoming a superhero duo!"

She rolled her eyes. "_Okay_, good luck with that." She hung up and pocketed her 'Gear. It took her at least half an hour to swim back to the mainland, mostly because she wasn't fast and didn't have the stamina with all the drag. By the time she washed ashore, she was completely human. No trace of rock left. She could only hope it would stay that way for a while.

While regaining her breath and dripping dry she gazed up, finding a Flygon idly roaming around the outer landscape of the entrance to the stadium. All pokémon looked alike so she couldn't be sure, but she had a hunch who the pokémon belonged to...

She fled to the bushes, out of the wandering eyes of the auto-routed janitorbots scanning the cracks of the moving sidewalks for litter. The water in her clothes and on her skin froze over, becoming stiff. She cracked the ice off her clothes and out of her hair, ripped the evidence of ice off the bushes, and then walked normally onto the paths.

The janitorbots scanned her as she rode the moving sidewalk, trying to decipher if she was trash or not. She passed Flygon, who had nestled into a patch of giant pink daisies and fell asleep. Upon entering the lobby, she was on high alert, suspecting that every person she looked at knew her secret.

_Only Lucas knows, _she reminded herself, nervously treading upon the red rug, _and I won't have another surprise morph like that. I'll make sure of it. _As she got to the archway to the courtyard hallway, a thought bubbled inside of her that made her stomach slosh. _What if I wake up tomorrow completely animalized? _

"Serena," A familiar female voice came far from one of the halls towards the hotel area. Serena turned her head. Megan was strolling down the corridor, a face like stone and black eyes as dark as could be. Serena was scared for a moment, but everything was quickly dropped because she was glad that her leader was back.

"Ms. Megan!" Serena shrieked, meeting her halfway so that a water fountain stood between them on the wall at the side. "You're finally back! Mr. Daniel will be so happy!" She took Megan's wrist and tugged,

Megan pulled back, feet steady. "I'm here for you, Serena."

Serena felt the ominous tone and fear was creeping up her back like a skeletal hand. "Wait...What do you mean?"

"I'm taking you back to Mossdeep." Megan said.

Serena shook her head, not understanding. "Ms. Megan, I..." It came to her all at once. She was working for _him_. The shock of betrayal was highlighted in her blue eyes, but Megan wasn't fazed. She took Serena's arm and jerked her towards lobby exit. "Stop!" Serena said, pulling her arm back. Megan let go in surprise, not expecting oppression.

"Serena, you _have _to come." Megan drawled, her authority voice very forceful on the brunette. "The stake of the world is in your hands."

"That—that's _crap!_" Serena shouted, feeling more ashamed that she cursed at a mentor. "You don't know what it's like back there! You don't know!"

"I know your half pokémon," Megan whispered, "and I know that Mr. Bay _needs _you. I'm sorry Serena, but you need to start thinking of others instead of yourself."

Fire now started raging through Serena, except since her powers were the opposite, she could feel winds of ice spiraling around her arms. She _hated _when someone excused her of being selfish, _especially _when they only know half of the situation! Megan can't just come out of nowhere and demand to bring her back to that place!

"What he needs is to be arrested!" Serena spat back. "A lot of his experiments were inhumane and illegal! You shouldn't be on his side!"

A fracasbot passed through the hallway rather slowly.

Once out of earshot, Megan scowled and grabbed Serena's reptile-cold arm. "You are coming, and that's _final_. Period point blank."

Serena shook her head. This was not how it was going to go. Megan had become a drone. An employee of the man, the man that had set her free and was now trying to catch her back. Serena unleashed the energy stirring through her.

Megan became frozen in ice. Completely glazed, as if she had fallen in an arctic river. Serena knew she wasn't dead. She left her heart beating and blood flowing, but that was it. She'd thaw in maybe 24 hours, and that's probably enough time to buy time and figure out a plan that didn't involve running away again. She swiftly pulled Megan out of the hallway and into the bathroom where there were no cameras.

She froze-and-smashed the hand-scan lock for the janitor's supply closet and pushed Megan inside.

"I'm sorry Ms. Megan, but I'm not returning to that hellhole." She hissed, slamming the door shut. With a staggering sigh, Serena covered her face with her hands and started to silently cry.

* * *

><p><strong>Kaisei Arcan <strong>_DON'T WANNA SEE NO FLUIDS ON THAT BATTLE FIELD #justsaying  
><em>5 people like this

**Jun Kirman **I would never let that happen! :[

**Lucas Taylor **hey, battles have been getting intense. Legs breakin and bones crushin and schist

**Jun Kirman **did you just say...schist?

**Paru **I started that.  
>2 people like this<p>

**James Lopreo **I started frakk! :D  
>2 people disagree with this<p>

* * *

><p>It was already dark and raining by the time the two trainers were teleported to the stage.<p>

"This is a 1-on-1 battle between Lord Jun Kirman of Castelia City, Unova and King Brett Kuso of Sinnoh. The time limit is 8 minutes. Stage assessing." Nothing happened to the field. It seemed that the only obstacle the two would be facing was the thick mist of rain. That only made Jun more nervous. "Begin."

Brett smirked and twirled the purchased fake golden staff in his hand, tossing a pokéball in the other. A Braviary appeared, wings spread wide and eyes sharply focused. It could see every raindrop and calculate the exact path it would fall in.

"I'm putting my faith in you, Guide!" Jun cried out, throwing the pokéball beyond the hover umbrella beside him protecting him from the rain. A Lampent emerged, and the rain seemed to annoy it more than weaken it. Brett's smirk widened. Bad choices had already been made this early into the battle. It reminded him of the mistakes Lucas used to and still makes.

At once without command, Braviary launched off into the air. It freaked Jun out, how abrupt and fast it was. Braviary glided in the air high above the stadium, higher than the last row of the audience. Jun thought that the sun had peaked in through the rain, but it was really Braviary's wings beginning to shine.

_Wait, Brett hadn't commanded anything! _He thought worriedly, casting his glance between his pokémon and his opponent. _What attack is that! _He wasn't sure what to do now.

"Guide, use Sunny Day!" He commanded. It seemed like the best thing to do right now, to temporarily get rid of the rain clouds. Lampent launched a bright star into the sky, missing Braviary's own star-resemblance. The orb ate at the storm clouds, evaporating it. The sun came in through curtains. Heaven was sending spotlights.

Braviary dipped downwards, coming at a neck-breaking speed—its path left a rainbow! Jun instantly recognized the move as Sky Attack, and Braviary was getting closer—

"Guide, dodge!" He called quickly. Lampent threw itself forward just as Braviary came crashing down, but it caught itself before it face planted and sent a menacing glare in Lampent's direction. Braviary pumped itself into the air again and came at Lampent, wings becoming white again—Jun groaned. Why wasn't Brett calling moves? He felt like he was battling a wild pokémon!

The only indication that Brett was pleased was his momentary head nods.

"Guide use Inferno!" Jun said. But Lampent couldn't generate the energy fast enough before Braviary hit it with Wing Attack, and the fire that spewed out of its hand-lamps were weak.

"I'm surprised he lasted this long." Lucas muttered from the stands. Everyone else around wasn't as interested in the battle as he was. They had a feeling it would be over pretty soon.

"We should cheer for him." Lexi suggested three people down. "Maybe that'll jump start him!"

"Will he hear us from here?" Serena wondered, her voice the softest.

"That never stops me!" said Irene, next to Lucas out of her seat.

"Please sit, you're embarrassing me." Muttered Kai from a row above them.

"Everyone, get up! We're going to cheer!" Lexi said, giving everyone looks. Paru, next to her, sighed and stood up. The others were still surprised by their spontaneous new friendship.

"Yeah, okay..." Ashka said, standing up. Her seat retracted like a tongue. "Let's go everyone, we're cheering." That had everyone else standing up and edging to the bars without objection.

With Ashka, Lexi, Lucas, Serena, Gerard, Paru, Irene, James, and the rest of Rodolfo's group yelling at the top of their lungs for Jun to kick some butt, he could only grin so wide that it almost got stuck. Their cheers fueled the fire in him and his Lampent. Braviary was launching into the sky again, probably for another attack. It was hard to tell without Brett giving commands. With a 360-swoop and a streak of hued colors following it, Jun had quickly figured Braviary out and gave the order,

"Guide use Confuse Ray!" He commanded. Lampent was ready and span the lamps on its hands. Lights flickered inside it like police lights, and Lampent aimed the lights at the oncoming Braviary. Braviary instantly lost sight and became confused with the red and blue lights.

"Braviary!" Brett called, speaking vocally for the first time during the entire battle.

In the stands, Irene was back in her seats and she turned and tapped Kai on the kneecap. "Confuse Ray disrupted their communications." She whispered. His lips remained as a straight line and he crossed his arms to focus back on the battle, watching even more thoroughly than before.

Jun looked at the clock as Braviary struggled to figure out where it was, but it continued to smash its head against the ground thinking that that direction was forward. Jun had lasted two minutes so far—the longest anyone in the tournament against Brett. Could it be? Did he have a chance to beat him?

"Lampent use Inferno!" Jun said. Lampent began generating the energy needing to do so, its hand-lamps smoking.

"Braviary!" Brett yelled again, sounding a notch below frustrated. Braviary suddenly froze, its head feathers tipping up—it craned its head up and looked around, then looked at the ground and wondered why it was rubbing its head into the ground. _Brave Bird._

_Huh? _Jun looked around. He had heard that—that—what was it? A voice...in his head...

Braviary rose into the air again. Jun had a feeling he knew what move was going to be done.

"Now, Lampent!" Jun cried. "Inferno!"

"Brave Bird!" Brett said, saying it out loud just to tease.

Both pokémon went off at once—Lampent from the ground, Braviary from the sky—Lampent emitting ferocious red and orange flames, Braviary enveloped in a fiery blue smoke that hissed as air pressed through it—Braviary went headfirst into the flames, unaffected, and struck Lampent in the face. Lampent lost hold on gravity and went flying.

_Crack. _Lampent hit the ground. A long taunting split cracked diagonally across Lampent's face. It didn't get up within 5 seconds, and the flames in its hand-lamps blew out. The light from Sunny Day went away as the storm clouds consumed whatever pokémon-made holes were left, and the rain returned, pouring heavy.

"Lampent is unable to battle." The judgebot's voice sunk Jun's heart in a black, icky tar pit. "King Brett Kuso is the winner."

As Brett took the praise with a kingly wave of his staff, Jun ran to his Lampent and checked the crack. The flame within its face still burned. It burned brighter, stronger. It wanted revenge. Jun could feel the heat seeping onto his fingertips.

"No." He shook his head, stroking his pokémon gently. "The battle is over. The war is not. You did your best, Guide." His pokémon was returned in the red light of the pokéball, but the it took the heat of passion a few more seconds to fade. Jun stood up and looked over at Brett. If the transportation light hadn't blinded him, he would've glowered.

* * *

><p><strong>Kaisei Arcan <strong>_that's my #boyyyyyy __**Jun!**_ _That Brett loser must be uber mad that you lasted longer than anyone :D  
><em>3 people like this

**Jun Kirman **ty :3

**Lexi Redstone **How's your Lampent doing?

**Jun Kirman **The nurses are working on her right now. I don't think we can fix the crack :l

**Lexi Redstone **They can't replace?

**Lucas Taylor **of course not -_- it's a pokémon. Sthu  
>Lexi Redstone dislikes this<p>

* * *

><p>Sherry hopped up from her perch on the edge of her bed in her shared suite when she heard the doorbell chime. Amber yelled from the shower for her to go answer it. She stepped around her Solrock who was lying face down on the carpet and pulled open the door.<p>

"Hey hottie!" She greeted with a flirty smile to the visitor. Elliot's face was hard and unamused. He scanned her up and down, then leant his arm on the door.

"Is that chick with the saber in here? That is what I heard." He said.

"Why?" She asked, eyes blinking in wonder.

"...I need to talk to her."

"About?"

"My arm."

"It's looks cool! Its compliments your weird hair!"

His face pulled down to a frown and he stopped leaning on the door. "Could you and your pretty self go and get her?"

"Which one? Me or my pretty self?" Sherry didn't mean to tease. She was actually pretty confused now.

His eyes turned to a glare. "You. Get. Her."

"Alright. Stop talking. Like that." She giggled, copying his accent. Elliot waited but she didn't move.

"Are you going to go?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I don't have to pee at the moment, no thanks."

The next face he made translated to _I am talking to an idiot._

"Besides, Amber is in the shower." She shrugged.

Elliot's fists curled. That stupid—AGH! She's wasting his time! In anger he brought his hand up—Sherry cringed on the spot—

"Drop that hand or you lose it _and _the ability to have babies." Said a voice from behind Sherry. Both looked behind Sherry to Amber, hair still madly dripping wet and the only thing covering her being a white towel with the tournament logo on the side. Amber pushed Sherry to the side and stepped to face Elliot. She was only an inch shorter than him without the heels. He was more intimidating at this height, but she didn't show it.

"I—" He began,

"No." Amber stopped him, waving a hand in the air. "I am _through _with you. You have five seconds to get your ass out of my sight."

"God, you are violent. I only wanted to talk."

"So did your girlfriend." Amber pointed out. "Kay, remember her? Purple hair? Smashed black glasses? She tried to talk to you. You added more bruises to her collection." She caught his grimace. "OH! And _now _you have the balls to admit that you were wrong, right? Now that you have one less arm?"

"I'm going to sue." He stated, right to the point.

"For what? _Assault_? Possession of deadly weapons?" She hammered. "Suck it up _boy_, I've been in court longer than I've been in class. I know all their tricks. If you try to get me for your arm, I get you for domestic abuse. Oh, and let's not forget who's still over 18." Her eyes held no lies, and what was scary was that her legal jargon made sense.

Silence came between them, with the exception of Sherry humming a crappy auto tuned song. Water was still trickling down Amber's leg, but she kept her cool.

Elliot shook his head, turned around, and left. Amber smirked.

"That's right!" She taunted, sticking her head out the door. He turned his head slightly. "Oh, and touch _any _of my friends—_ANY _of them—you know I'll be tracking you faster than GPS."

Elliot stayed in his spot in the middle of the hallway as Amber slammed the door shut. A fracasbot passed by. A vendorbot passed by and asked if he would like to buy a muffin. He toyed with his fingers, frowning. He had forgotten to mention things. He forgot that he meant to apologize for all he had done. But with all those threats in mind, he knew it wasn't going to do any good by remembering them.

* * *

><p><strong>Before I say more, I'd like to thank <strong>_KingOfStories01_**, **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, and **_Yamashishi _**for their reviews last chapter! :D You guys aren't just reviewers. You're SUPER REVIEWERS! Indepth reviews are amazing. Wow.**

**I know it's not my usual update day. Well. Here's why :l I am verry loaded with work at the moment. Tuesday I had to take off during school for a swim meet and all the make up work will be swamping me for the entire weekend. Also, I'd like to get a head start on that Valentine picture; who won the poll?**

**JAMES AND SERENA! YEAH!**

**So I'm thinking of their picture as I do the cruddy work. I'm thinking it'll take maybe 3 weeks to get back into the swing of things again, that way it'll give me enough time to finish work, the chapter, and the picture by at least valentines day. You can check back whenever. I'll announce it next chapter if it's actually completed. So next update...February 24th? I know, it's practically a month X_X**

**Well, thanks for reading and tolerating my bad updating habits! ^_^ I've got a new poll up about Eastward if you'd like to vote. It's more of a you-choice thing and isn't vital to the story, but every vote counts :3**


	27. Tri and Pi, Part 3 of 3

****Chapter Twenty-Six - Tri and Pi, Part 3 of 3  
><strong>**_Day 15, around 4pm in the afternoon, with pie battles in 2 hours._

**I****rene Connor **voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"His smile"

* * *

><p>"Mr. Daniel, it is an honor that you have chosen me out of all the others to accompany you in this adventure of the—"<p>

"James, put the helmet on."

James "oh"'d in surprise and threw the helmet over his head, twisting it into the neck of his indigo pressure suit until it clicked together.

It was late in the afternoon following the end of the third round of the tournament when Daniel asked James to accompany him on an expedition underwater. He hadn't revealed much to why, but the reason for bringing him instead of one of the more _pleasant _ones—simply because James was the most intelligent, dangerous even. The rouse he played, always having random outbursts and dumbing down his vocabulary around the others—Daniel knew it was only so he would be liked better. But Daniel _needed_ the smart side of James now. He needed an interpretation to the undersea laboratory he found last night.

The two were still going through preparations at the edge of the island, the same place Daniel had been. Pita was waiting eagerly in the water, collar blinking around her neck instead of the floral necklace. Daniel checked James's pressure suit, the oxygen tanks, and then his own. Then he gave James a run through for how the suit worked. He had to use the radio on the helmet for James to be able to hear.

"Remember—don't wander. I'll be connecting our suits together. Don't worry about the pokémon, 'cause Pita will take care of it. Kick like you would with a bicycle—err—you know what a bicycle is right?"

James nodded eagerly.

"Alright. Once we get far enough down, we'll use the motors, and once we hit the ground they will turn to section cups. Don't _jump _or it'll become motors again and then you'll start flying towards the surface. Also—if pressure gets too tight and the suit isn't helping, just tell me." Daniel said. James all the while was nodding slowly, taking in all the information. He's never deep-sea dived and he's always wanted to. He wanted to jump off a plane with a parachute too, maybe when he had the confidence to do it. He'd settle with this for now.

"Pan! Panpour!" Pita cried, bobbing in the water impatiently.

"You heard her." Daniel said, jerking his head in the Panpour's direction. "Let's get moving."

"But I..." James trailed off, looking down at the ocean hesitantly. It lapped and splashed, hissed and threatened to bite. Was it safe? Daniel didn't give it a second thought and readily jumped into the water, feet first, pencil-style. Little water splashed up, so it looked like he was swallowed and belched.

One foot at a time, he slid into the water, still sitting on the ledge. The water was _freezing_, and though it hadn't reached, he could feel the chills crawling to his shoulders. But knowing that their time was limited, James pushed off into the water, automatically closing his eyes as he fell under.

Cold, so cold. Like someone was compressing him with a ziplock bag. He peeped open an eye. Half of the helmet was still bobbing at the surface, while the rest of him lie still. He rubbed his arms, desperately hoping it'd be warmer the farther down. Daniel paddled over to him, already a lot farther down. He took James's left wrist and press the buttons in the wrist cuffs. The suit began to heat up on the inside.

"Better?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah." James confirmed, nodding. He felt great respect for Daniel now more than ever. Such an experienced being of the sea was teaching him the ropes. He just felt proud.

"Alright, now stand still. This might feel funny." Daniel said, pulling a cord with a hook from behind him. James's eyes followed strangely as Daniel maneuvered behind him. He felt an odd, heavily buckling weight add to the back mid-section of his belt. He turned around. Daniel secured the clasp between their two suits. The cord extended as Daniel swam down.

"Ha, we're sort of joined at the hip." James noticed.

"Enough talking. We need to get to the city." Daniel said, activating a button on the belt. The cord locked, and James was yanked down from the force of Daniel's swimming. James eventually caught up, but by then it was dark and the only light came from Pita's collar. The motors whirred silently from both of their feet, and James giggled, only because it tickled.

In minutes they had reached the worn paved roads and were now walking, following the blinking red lights along the path. Not many pokémon swam near. James absorbed the old city with wide brown eyes, amazed by the architecture and old technology that seemed reminiscently familiar. They past wooden benches instead of plastic, newspaper stands instead of electronic kiosks, curled lampposts with clay ivory vines hugging it—and the buildings, encasing them in every direction. The windows, gone, and it seemed dangerous to go in there with wild pokémon swimming in and out of them. Now that the humans were gone, pokémon had taken to nesting there. Corsolas huddled under collapsed archways and Barboaches wiggled into drain pipes.

"It's—really—really beautiful...here." James said.

Daniel turned as they walked. James sounded like he had trouble breathing. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I—I—I dunno, sir." James stammered. He paused in the middle of an intersection and pressed his palm to his chest. "It's—hard...to—to breath."

Daniel shook his head and came closer. "You should've told me from the start! The water pressure is squeezing through your suit." He took James's wrist and took several seconds to adjust the suit. Soon, James became visibly relieved as the confining against his chest loosened. "Relax a little. Breathe slow." Daniel coaxed, aiding him forward. Pita looked back worriedly at them.

Afterwards the two continued walking, both holding their wrists out to use the flashlight. Pita waved a greeting to the hiding pokémon, which caused most of them to squeeze further into the nooks and crannies of their homes. It must've been another hour of walking when they reached housing areas. Except, there were very few houses, and only the mailboxes that James had read about in an eBook about the history of email remained for many other lots. The houses that remained were only skeletons and frames now with the roof completely blown off.

James looked around alarmingly. It looked like pirates had ransacked the neighborhoods. They were still following the red-lit path, but he had doubts—did Daniel know where he was going? Where _were _they going?

"Mr. Daniel...are we lost?" James asked hesitantly. "I...I have my pie battles soon..."

"We'll be there faster if we swam." Daniel replied. "I thought you wanted to walk to catch your breath."

"I'm fine now. We should swim. Let's swim." James said, jumping off the pavement. The suction cups flipped over to the motors. Daniel did the same, and, still joined at the hip, led them down the neighborhoods. They stopped at a small shack where the door was left ajar.

"Here we are." Daniel said, presenting the shack. James stared at it ludicrously, wondering what was so important in the small little shack that it was the climax of their underwater excursion. They entered, and Daniel shut the door behind them. Pita joyously pushed the red button protruding on the left wall like she had last time. James looked up in alarm as a sharp, metallic crashing sound closed around the shack, which must've been the metal sheets that made the room pitch black. Daniel wove his flashlight around. Water drained into the floor.

"Where _are_ we?" James asked in fascination, a little annoyed that gravity had pulled him back to the ground.

A trap door in the middle of the room opened to a staircase.

"You'll see." Daniel said, grinning. He couldn't wait to see James's face once he saw what was downstairs. "Go down there."

"Umm...okay..." James said, reluctant to go down to a strange basement without any knowledge to what was down there. For all he knew there could be a rotting person chained to a wall and a whole bunch of naughty toys. That was the worst-case scenario, anyway. The staircase was lit and he cautiously treaded down, looking left and right to be sure nothing popped out at him.

But the room after the last step was dark, and James clapped his hands together twice. He stared at the air expectantly.

"Mr. Daniel! The lights won't come on!"

Daniel and Pita plodded down the stairs. He reached to the left and flipped a switch. The lights flickered on, revealing the heavily messy room of papers, computers, and space maps. James's eyes grew even larger in size at the amount of new information he could gain. He leaped instinctively at the old computer, but it wouldn't turn on. He shuffled through the papers, but he wasn't interested in reading. He turned to the maps on the wall, but for now nothing registered.

"James, I need you to focus. I'm about to tell you something important." Daniel said, leaning on the table.

"Why do toilet seats smell like the doctor's office?" James said.

"_Focus_."

"Oh. Sorry...you were saying?" James turned sheepishly.

Daniel looked down for a moment. He had been contemplating it on the way here—the whole "aliens" exist thing. He had to figure out a way to get James to understand it without freaking out or disproving it. But seeing as it was _James_, it shouldn't be that hard...

"Okay," Daniel started out, clapping his hands together. "So...you know that Ross lady? The ranger? Did she ever talk to you about...things beyond space?"

"Well, I dunno..." James said, scratching his head, trying to remember. "I only saw her a few times...she never talked to me about things..." At the sound of space he looked to the map, eyes tracing over the thousands of stars that looked like glitter on Irene's skirt.

"Okay—umm—have you ever noticed the sky at night? The stars and stuff?"

"I don't see where you're going with this, Mr. Daniel." James said. Daniel sighed, but was surprised by what James said next. "Because if you're trying to tell me that aliens life forms could exist beyond our solar system, I already had a hunch. You see—I found this _alien gun _on our first few days of traveling. The only problem was that it disappeared when I tried to show you!"

"You didn't find an alien gun." Daniel scoffed, recalling when it happened pretty clearly.

"I did!" James wailed. "Remember the crater? That wasn't natural!"

"Meteor shower." Daniel replied logically. James groaned and crossed his arms, becoming silent. The two stood in silence, both looking at different parts of the maps just to not look at each other.

"But, wait..." James muttered. "Why are _you _talking about aliens then?"

_So many things...they lied to us..._Daniel thought. He was in his own thoughts, remembering back when he was at the academy in the beginning years when there were spaceship sightings and rumors beyond human design. But the government and all the scientific officials disproved of any extraterrestrial activity. They claimed that all the strange sightings were unidentified private parties playing around in the cosmos.

But it didn't explain the strange star patterns, the aurora's in the hottest regions of the world, the frequencies of magnetic storms, or the occasional find of a non-human device.

_And what about what happened to Gerard? _Daniel thought. _How did he lose his memory? He wasn't hurt at all...his brain was just scrambled a bit...even Ashka couldn't have caused that._

"Did you ever hear about S.S. Noah Ark II?" He finally said, turning away from the map. James returned to attention, having come from his own complex thoughts. He nodded knowingly.

"Sure, they taught us about it in the academy." He replied, leaning his wrist on the table the computer was sitting on. He looked at the papers scatter on the table a foot away. "The engine blew up and all those lives were lost." There was no emotion on his face. He didn't want to smile, showing that he found it amusing, or to frown, showing that he had some attachment to the situation.

Daniel shook his head. "I know. I learned that too. But apparently, that's not what happened." He beckoned for James to look at the papers on the table and pulled out the reports of the Massacre of 2121. "Look at this." He said, passing it to James. "The spaceship didn't blow up. We don't even know what happened to it. It got so far that we lost communication."

James nodded, scanning quickly though the page. "Wormholes..." he muttered. "They're so...hard to understand. If you put in the factor of the relativity of space...those people could still be alive, just drifting. Or they could've found a planet, recolonized...repopulated...created their own race..." The two both had simultaneous thoughts and nodded.

"Do you think that's who's been invading Earth?" Daniel asked as James looked over the papers of abductions two hundred years ago.

"I don't know...give me a few minutes to process..." James said, taking a seat. He became completely focused and untouchable, and Daniel let out a tiny sigh of relief. Things were definitely moving now. With a genius on their side, the code would be cracked very, very soon.

* * *

><p><strong>Imogen Yale <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"His nose"

**Amber Hendrix **wtf? Random much.

**Imogen Yale **but I like noses :)

**Lucas Taylor **where's the female equivalent of this poll? I want to put in my 2 cents

**Lexi Redstone **we all know what you'd pick -_-  
>3 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a girl—_"Her hips"  
>Gerard Eckhart and Paru agree<p>

**Lexi Redstone **that's what I thought.

**Ashka Storme **what the hell **Gerard**?

**Lucas Taylor **hey, don't hurt on my manz  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this<p>

**Gerard Eckhart **what...wide hips means she's capable of giving birth without a C-section.  
>4 females like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **o_o...eww. not what I had in mind

* * *

><p>It might've been thirty minutes before James had finally begun moving out of the chair. Before he had been rifling through files and papers, scribbling in horrific penmanship and connecting ideas together. The journal on the Bluman woman had been especially helpful. He had learn the name of their planet, their race, and their tendencies. He had a hunch that the babies could be born blue, but it wasn't a permanent pigmentation. It was something in the earth atmosphere...or lack of...that caused the skin to return to normal.<p>

_People on S.S. Noah Ark II = people of Marrion?_

That was the biggest question right now. Could these people possibly be linked? If so, it would make sense to why they spoke English, why they looked 99.9 percent human, and why they developed human technology. But why hadn't they just called themselves human? When they finally reached Earth, why didn't they just reveal themselves? Why hide and abduct and do all those things behind the scenes?

_Plasma gun thingy = Bluman device?_

Another thing James had added to the equation. He knew that the technology was nothing of Earthly materials. There were very few elements that glowed in a tube like that—or at least, that bright, without a constant energy source. What if the device was constructed from an entirely different race? Then there would be two races they'd have to worry about.

James took a look at the maps.

"So what are they push pins supposed to stand for?" He asked Daniel.

Daniel stepped closer to the map so that he could see the coordinates scribbled onto sticky notes. "I think the person who did this was tracking the spaceship. You know, after it was sucked into a wormhole. Then they took all the evidence here and...well...found it." He pointed to the ripped part of the map. "I guess someone ransacked the place and destroyed the coordinates."

James stepped closer to take a better look. "This is complex math, but I can figure it out. I'll need a few hours with it and scratch paper."

"You don't have a few hours." Daniel said. "The pie battles are in an hour."

James fished his 'Gear out of his pocket. "I'll take a picture of it and figure it out from there. I'll give you the coordinates when I figure them out."

Daniel nodded, stepping back from the map so James could zoom in. He didn't bother to mention that the aliens were most likely surrounding their planet at this very second. That kind of information wasn't relevant.

* * *

><p><strong>Amber Hendrix <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"His package"  
>Sherry Brogan, Lucas Taylor, and 5 other people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"His personality"  
>2 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **that's a lie. He could be the funniest guy in the world and look butt ugly  
>Sherry Brogan agrees<p>

**Lexi Redstone **No one is ugly :l. Everyone is beautiful on the inside.

**Jun Kirman **Yeah! :P Quit being so superficial Lucas~

**Lucas Taylor **Hey, just saying. I don't want a girl with a banged up face

**Serena Valliya **I'm neutral to this...

**Lucas Taylor **Admit it, you want a hunk with a great personality ;)

**Sherry Brogan **and OTHER things ;D wink wink  
>2 people dislike this<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel and James split the second they returned to the lobby of the Lilycove Stadium. They attracted a lot of attention with their wet pressure suits, but they easily could have been mistaken as citizens of Sohjay who took a dip in their similar uniforms. James bolted for his room to dry off while Daniel took a stroll around the courtyard with a servicebot following him with a fan on its stomach powerfully blowing.<p>

The rod on his styler immediately began flashing but in the serenity of his stroll, he had completely ignored it. Pita jumped for his pocket where it flashed and managed to pull it out at the first attempt. Unfortunately her hands slipped, and the device took a nice dive for the ground. At the sound of the crack Daniel froze and turned. He groaned and picked the styler up, inspecting for cracks and dents.

Everything was fine, but he chipped the coloring above the screen. He touched the screen, and the flashing on the tucked in rod stopped. The message coming up was from the radar. The projector lit up, defining a dot in the vicinity. Another ranger was nearby. His heart immediately leaped, first thoughts directing immediately to Megan.

He followed the coordinates to the detected styler, forgetting that he had a servicebot and Panpour trying to catch up. His thick blocky hair got trapped in his eyes as he made a sharp turn, and he ended up running into a very frail person and over his own two feet.

"Oh crap! Sorry!" He said, flicking the hair out of his eyes. Ross continued to stand, looking startled and reaching for a device on the right side of her belt. Her eyes warmed into recognition and she fell out of her pouncing position.

"Careful where you are going." She said jokingly, aiding him up with a surprisingly firm arm. The 'bot and Pita caught up and stood at his sides. Ross scanned him up and down, eyebrows up in a surprise to find him in a pressure suit. "I assume you have been...swimming?"

Daniel shrugged, slightly aware that the suit was tight everywhere, making certain _places _extremely noticeable... "Yep. Me and a camper went searching down the ruins." He said. She nodded, familiar with the old city underwater. Daniel's first thoughts were to talk to her about the alien situation, but the thought of Megan completely took over. "Megan was with you, right?" He said quickly. "Is she here?" He looked around, eyes raving over everything in the hall but not finding her. He checked back in with his styler, but the only one he could find besides Rodolfo's was Ross's, right in front of him.

Ross took to observing him as he explained the situation with Megan, with how she just left in the middle of the night for a random mission on her summer vacation. His caramel eyes were wide with distress and neglect and miss of her. She felt an urge to have someone like he has her.

"I do not know why she left for the mission when she is not on duty." Ross finally replied after Daniel settled down. "My partner was optional. I told home base that I would take volunteers, or go solo. I am afraid I am no help." She scuffed the air absently with her shoe. "But...as she has a record for always ditching you...Why _are _you still with her?"

He was instantly offended. Why did she have to use the word _ditch_? It was cold and heartless, and implied that Megan didn't love him, which he hoped was not the case.

"She doesn't ditch me!" He snapped back. She took it to heart, eyes softening and looking down. He didn't care. She just stepped on a boundary. "With Megan it's just—she's hardworking, and she wants to excel! Even though she goes at a faster pace, I know she'll always have time for me! We both love each other! She doesn't just leave to _leave_!"

"I am sorry, sorry." Ross said quickly. She could sense that his anger was getting a bit out of control, and she had a history of getting bruises after angering people. Daniel had been a friend, but right now, he was scaring her...she continued, saying, "Megan and I left the laboratory in Mossdeep in search for someone around here. She came a few hours before me."

Daniel was quick to calm down. If Megan was already here, why didn't she come find him the moment she arrived? Now a blanket of smashed feelings similar to Ross's fell over him. "I never saw her..." He muttered. "Are you sure she came here?"

"I am." Ross nodded. "I only came to help her. I am sorry if she did not...you know..."

Daniel nodded knowingly. Maybe it was true...Megan tended to ditch him when it came to work. The negative side to her intense work ethic was that she became a lone wolf just to focus. That was why whenever they were working during the weekdays, they wouldn't hear a word from each other. It was so simple to call or leave a message on Facebook, but she never replied whenever he tried. She always cuts her strings when she's working.

"I guess I'll look for her myself." Daniel finally said, coming to a conclusion. "If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her."

"I will." Ross nodded. With nothing left to say they both walked away. Ross stopped after two steps and turned back, peering through stray blonde hair to watch Daniel walk off with the 'bot and his Panpour. Her feelings of hurt, envy, and a little jealousy swelled up in her eyes. She blinked, the look in her eyes dispersing.

_Why is he so dead-set on her? _She wondered, beginning her walk again. _Megan never talks about him...but he is always talking about her..._she looked back, hoping to catch sight of him again. She didn't. _Honestly...I think he would be better off with...maybe...me?_

She shook her head. _No, no one wants someone with a background like me. My mother was matron of an Orre orphanage and totally treated me like dirt. I was a runaway, and to survive in the beginnings I had to resort to selling sex... _Her face became red at the memories. She rubbed at her arms, but the bruises wouldn't go away. They had become permanent blemishes on her skin. _In fact, it was one man... one ranger...that pulled me out of the gutters a few years ago..._

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a girl—_"Her eye color"  
>3 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **okay, follow up question; what color? -_-

**Jun Kirman **say purple! :D  
>Nicolas Wolfe said: perpul<p>

**Lucas Taylor **Why purple?

**Jun Kirman **purple is cool :3

**Lexi Redstone **Purple isn't natural. He should say something reasonable, like blue :P  
>3 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **You are soo not suave.

**James Lopreo **Actually...I think hazel is a really nice color

**Lucas Taylor **omg...do you have a thing for AMBER! O_O

**Jun Kirman **That's so...sweet :3 everyone deserves a person to love.

**Amber Hendrix **I saw my name. WHAT?

**James Lopreo **I said brown is attractive...doesn't mean I like you directly...

**Imogen Yale **Amber is a really great person once you get to know her :) don't sell her out just because she's intimidating, James.

**Amber Hendrix **No, go ahead and sell me out.

**Paru ***glares at Imogen*  
>Manchuria Grey likes this<p>

**Imogen Yale **What?

* * *

><p><em>Private Message – <em>**Paru **_to _**Imogen Yale**

**Paru **I know u lyk him. U need to stop setting him up with others

**Imogen Yale **Really...it's nothing...

**Paru **why are you so shy to do anything?

**Imogen Yale **honestly you have no idea how hard it is...to just...go up and say hi.

**Paru **but u lyk him right?

**Imogen Yale **I guess so...yeah...

**Paru **that's all I needed to know.

**Imogen Yale **wait. What are you going to do?

**Imogen Yale **Paru?

**Imogen Yale **Don't do anything stupid! :'(

* * *

><p>"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted a voice from the males' bathroom. "There's absolutely <em>no <em>toilet paper back on the roll, and the regenerator is clogged with muck! What an abomination on such an establishment!"

Jun, who was washing his hands in the very same bathroom, quickly dried his hands and left without another word.

Rodolfo slammed open the stall door, the toilet automatically flushing behind him. As he strolled to the sink a hovering robot with a tray of towels went and followed him. Rodolfo continued to grumble to himself, _Such a renowned stadium and they can't even remember to restock their toilet paper! HMPH!_

He exited. When he picked up his feet on the rug he immediately noticed the sopping of his sneakers to the floor like a sponge, and that could only mean one thing—it was wet. His anger immediately flared up and without hesitation, he barged into the ladies' bathroom. The puddle continued from the janitor's closet, which he opened.

And there was Megan, legs from the knees down encased in ice.

"Oh my." He said.

"Rodolfo!" Megan said angrily, looking up from her wiggling. "Don't just stand there! Help me!" She was reluctant, asking her off-and-on stalker to help her. Ever since Daniel took care of it she hadn't gotten anymore awkward messages, but still...

"Err...okay." Rodolfo inspected the ice strangely, wondering where it came from. She was shivering and was dripping wet. "Do you want me to get a laser...?" He asks.

"Just get a robot, dammit!" She said, shooting him a look that could kill. He swiftly ran, but only to save himself from _her_. For the next few minutes waiting she struggled to pull the ice apart. She knew she could do it, she had the toned legs of a swimmer. It was unattractive with a dress but it was better than being rail-skinny, like Ross. "UGHA!" She groaned, muscles straining. The ice ripped apart. It fell from her legs and she took the closest thing to warm herself up. She took the toilet paper and began wrapping herself like an Egyptian mummy, still vehemently cold.

_Dammit Serena..._she thought, _You're more deranged than I thought..._

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"The way he looks at you"  
>7 people like this, Lucas Taylor replies "SAPPY!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Serena Valliya <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"His intelligence"  
>James Lopreo feels neutral<p>

**Imogen Yale **very nice answer :) Can't settle for just any guy.

**Paru **what if he's the most stupidest guy in the world but he's REALLY handsome?

**Lucas Taylor **what stupid are we talking here? Ignorant stupid or dangerous stupid?

**Serena Valliya **there's more than one kind? o_o

**Lucas Taylor **Yeah ;)  
>Manchuria Grey dislikes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **troll! :[

**Serena Valliya **um, wat

**Lucas Taylor **nothin. Sherry has followers -.-

**Paru **never did answer that question on how stupid he has to be.

**Serena Valliya **He shouldn't _be_ stupid. If he's so blind that he can't see how much a girl likes him, then he doesn't deserve her.  
>Lexi Redstone and Ashka Storme like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **smh

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_good luck during the pie battles best franns! :3 __**Lucas **_and _**Kaisei  
><strong>_3 people like this

**Kaisei Arcan **#irepresentawesomeness  
>Irene Connor dislikes this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **I'm so close to winning. Thanks for the support :D

**Jun Kirman **Welcome! ^.^ I'm just glad you're not mad that I lumped you and Kai together again!

**Lucas Taylor **oh yea. WHY U NO SEPARATE US?

**Jun Kirman **but I can't choose between you guys...

**Kaisei Arcan **tbh I will #win

**Lucas Taylor **We'll see :[

**Kaisei Arcan **I #smellachallenge

**Nicolas Wolfe **i smell chicken  
>5 people like this<p>

* * *

><p>The remaining five trainers of the tourney, Brett, Kai, Paru, James, and Lucas, were introduced to the newly adapted stage in the shape of a giant circle. It was designed as a playground carousel split into five stations, one for every trainer to stand on and a bar to keep themselves balanced, as the stage <em>would <em>be spinning just to disorient the pokémon. The crowd gradually reseated and the five trainers stood at their posts, waving to the crowd that had thinned over the rounds. Aika, the host, lifted her long skirt as she stepped onto the carousel and met at the middle where all the colors conformed at a single point. She put her hand up, and the audience immediately silenced. The camerabot swung around.

"_Good evening everyone!_" Her voice boomed confidently as she looked into the camera for the crowd to see her face on the flat screens. "_We have reached our last day of the tournament, and our second last round! The last two people standing in this round will move on to the final round tonight, and then the ceremony will be tomorrow morning with the ticket to Quadros!_" Applause automatically followed. "_And now presenting our contestants—King Brett! Prince Kai! Lord James! Lord Lucas! And Blacksmith Paru!" _

Shouts of cheering followed every name, but James couldn't help but notice that his was the quietest.

Aika continued. "_Here are the rules for the pie battles; no time limit, 5-on-5! That means every trainer gets one pokémon to fight for them, to determine who goes on to the last round! Now, it will not be a free for all...all five will not fight at the same time...there will be barriers around their pie-shaped areas. The two areas that are not barriered will be pit against each other. When their time is finished for the moment, harnesses will return the pokémon to their areas for momentary rest. Think of it as a rotation battle without the rotation!"_

The host presumed off stage. Collars and harnesses were set next to the trainers as the judgebot droned the exact rules Aika stated. "This is a 5-on-5 Pie battle with no time limit." The psychic barriers rose. They were translucent with a hint of blue. "Begin."

"Let's go, Renper!" James began, feeling energy from the battle already surging through him. The calculations that he had yet to finish were still fresh in his mind, and he was ready for his break. He was determined to at least last longer than Paru, even with his Luxray, who roared the second he was released.

"You got this, Nidorino!" Kai said, tossing up a pokéball. He was feeling especially powerful, and it may or may not have something to do with his schemes. Either way, tonight, he would be the winner. Landing on the ground a few feet away was a strange exoskeletal rabbit with poisonous, pointy crater-freckled skin.

"Triumph Riolu, go!" Lucas yelled, throwing the pokéball. Bursting forth, a Riolu materialized and focused on its opponents, even though the battle had yet to start. Lucas was rubbing his hands in anticipation. He had been waiting for this moment for the past few days—the moment he would finally get a match against his cousin Brett, and wipe that stupid smirk off his emo face.

Paru went next uncertainly. He wanted to be last, but it was clear with Brett's crossed-arms that he wasn't going to be revealing his pokémon until all the others were out. Everyone was on the edge of their seats to see what the King would bring to the mix, but all Paru wanted to do was survive. He groaned as he tossed the pokéball, still regretting winning against Imogen. He knew he should've forfeited to her. From the pokéball came his Raticate that could not stop moving, at all.

Finally, wordlessly, the King threw up his pokéball. The nail-polish black pokéball sailed up, glinted from the spotlights, and split open, hacking a white streak that shot to the ground. What stood up had Lucas completely infuriated.

Brett's choice of pokémon was a Lucario.

Around the same time, Ashka and Gerard shared a look as they sat in the stands. They both noticed the absence of Irene and both had witnessed someone of her size sneak off onto a motor boat off the island around an hour ago. Gerard was worried she would get lost or attacked with only one pokémon in possession, while Ashka as always, highly suspicious. She made a head-nod motion for him to speak.

Gerard turned to Mr. Daniel as the battle was paused for the pokémon to get their harnesses. "Mr. Daniel," he said, voice whimsical, "Can I see your styler?" With the look he got, he quickly continued with, "I've always wanted to practice with a real styler. You're my _idol_, you know. I want to be just _like_ you. I can't get any experience with my school styler."

Daniel immediately shot him down with a furious head shake. "Gerard, you know I can't do that. My styler is my only means of communication and protecting you guys. It's too powerful to be put in the hands of someone inexperienced." Then again, people like Rodolfo possessed a styler—that was, until it was taken away. "Besides, you'll miss the battle."

"I'm not that into the battle," Gerard admitted. "I just really..._really_," he put a large emphasis on that, "wanted to know what it felt like to have a professional, _beautifully_ hand-crafted styler in my own hands..."

Daniel could tell right away that something was up because everyone knew that all electronic items, stylers included, were mass produced on a factory assembly line. Yet, he was moved by how dedicated Gerard was on being a Ranger so early in his life. He sighed, and Gerard's smile threatened to give him away because he knew the ranger caved.

"Alright..." Daniel said, fishing the device out of his pocket. Before he placed it in Gerard's exciting hands he said, "_BUT_, do NOT go through my contacts and call anyone, do NOT answer calls or texts or anything...do NOT mess with my apps, or games, or styler settings. Just focus on the capturing, alright? Give it back in an hour."

"Thank you so much!" Gerard said, his feelings of gratefulness genuine. The moment he touched the _real _styler and gripped it in his hands, he felt a power he never knew was possible. The moment was stolen when Ashka took his other hand and pulled him out of his seat, leading back inside the stadium to the hallway. Daniel only looked back once and then back to the battlefield.

The two arrived at the hallway. Gerard marveled at the device—it was easily graspable with the black rubber grips, with a sleek tuck-inable touch screen and a rod that was compressed to the side of it. The styler wasn't that heavy, but the weight of it was the power of the device, and he could hardly speak as he roamed through the various screens and windows, devouring in all the information and options that he would've never had access to with his kiddy-grade styler.

"Stop messing around." Ashka urged, bringing him back with her tone and slight nudge to the ribs. "Track Irene and let's move."

Gerard sighed. He _really _wanted to test out the styler...

"Why do we have to find her? What do _we _have to do with anything?" He asked. He already knew the answer before she could explain it.

"She's in a conspiracy Gerard, we've already discussed this. We _heard _their conversation, we've _seen _their ships...that's where she's going—to her _own _ship, that way when the invasion begins, she won't get stuck in the crossfire."

"What happens to us?" He asked. Her mouth curled back in her own confusion. Yes, that part of the big picture was still blank to her.

"I guess we'll find out." She muttered. "Now find the 'Gear tracker app and find out where she's at. If she's going to boat off the island, we're going to fly." He looked back at her skeptically, reminding her that neither of them had a license to drive a rented hovercraft. She merrily smirked and tossed around her Charizard's pokéball.

* * *

><p>An abrupt high-pitched blare broke the ears of the trainers, and at once the carousel began a moderately slow spin and front walls of James and Kai articulately shattered for display.<p>

To James's surprise, Kai went straight in for the kill, reacting the second the barrier fell. "Nidorino use Horn Attack!" Kai commanded. Nidorino took off, but it was a slow runner and used this time to blow up the sharp horn protruding from its forehead.

The stage began rotating a level faster. "Renper, Charge Beam!" James said, and almost fell over when the stage jerked him to the left. At that exact time Luxray was pulled to the left and Charge Beam misfired, bouncing off the barriers—Nidorino's barrier came back up and Lucas's fell, and Charge Beam dove straight into Riolu. Riolu was thrust backwards, sliding in the direction as the rotating stage, clockwise.

_This is crazy, _thought Lucas, tightly gripping the iron bars as the carousel took a moment to reverse its spin. _But it's awesome! _He let out a chuckle and commanded, "Riolu use Quick Attack on Luxray!"

"Renper use Roar!" James retaliated. Riolu became a running streak, like a shooting star straight for the barrier. Before either could attack James's barrier came up—Riolu rebounded off and fell into a dizzy spin, and Roar backfired and flew right into Luxray. It took all its power not to fall of stage, and its nails ran a metal line through the paint as it tried to stay aboard.

Riolu was jerked back and the barriers rose. Kai and Brett's barriers fell.

"What the hell!" shouted Lucas. "I never got to attack!"

"That's the idea." Paru assumed, shrugging calmly. He was fortunate that his pokémon hadn't had a turn to fight yet.

Brett didn't need to give an order for Lucario to take off for Nidorino, no plan in mind. Kai was anticipating this kind of strategy from Brett's past battles, but actually facing it _himself _felt like a whole new problem. A white light began to simmer in Lucario's hand.

"Toxic Spikes, Nidorino!" Kai said. Nidorino threw back its head and whipped its jaw open, spewing sharp black fragments throughout the field, even past all the barriers. Lucario took an incredible leap, avoiding the spikes, a glimmering white bone twirling in its hand— "Dodge!" Kai called. Lucario had already swung the bone, crushing Nidorino in the skull with force from the landing. Nidorino began flopping to the left, following the sharp tug of rotation. Lucario slipped and stepped onto a spike.

Lucario was dragged back to its area as Kai's barrier came back up. Even though Nidorino was still kicking Kai was frighteningly impressed by Brett's power. No wonder he was King.

At the exact same time that Kai's barrier repaired, Paru's fractured. Paru cursed but his face managed to stay composed. Lucario made a turn and began darting towards Raticate, but it limped on its right foot, and shuddered every time it used its heel.

"Umm...Raticate..." Paru said, "Hyper Fang." His giant rat of a pokémon was already jumping on its tiny feet, wanting a slice of the action—literally—and dove straight for Lucario's leg, even as Lucario had a glimmering hand out. Lucario batted Raticate like a golf ball with its hand—and with the sheer force of a super effective attack like Force Palm, Raticate soared out of the ring.

The reaction time of the judgebot was immediate. "Raticate is unable to battle."

Although the battle was still in high heat and commotion, Paru felt a great relief and gladly stepped off the stage once it slowed to a stop. After he was off the stage began rotating again, and all the pokémon were back in their places with the barriers mended. The district lines were reassessed so the pie only had four slices.

"KICK HIS BUTT JAMES!" cried Lexi from the stands through most of the settling voices. This got the crowd _WOO!_-ing again, and James gave a thumbs up in Lexi's direction, unsure whose butt she was referring to.

"You got this, James!" Imogen cried, a length away from Lexi in the stands.

"Where's _my _cheer crew?" Lucas whined.

"Over here! Good luck Lucas! You too Kai!" cried Jun, flailing his arms around to be seen. Lucas was not amused by sharing cheerleaders with his opponent.

"Continue." Said the judgebot. Kai and Lucas's barriers fell.

Lucas's smirk was inevitable. He had been waiting for this moment for forever. "Riolu use Aura Sphere!"

"Horn Attack!" Kai called. Nidorino started running, its heavy body jumping along with it as it stomped over the spikes, harmless on its rough shell. Riolu launched the beautiful shining sphere—it sailed forward—Nidorino pumped its legs faster, _bursting _through Aura Sphere with its horn and slamming into Riolu's side, jerking it to the force of the spinning stage. Riolu had a face of annoyance and prepared its hand, but even so everyone could see that all of its moves were overshadowed by Brett's Lucario's more stronger ones.

"Riolu, Force Palm!" Lucas called the attack already in motion.

"Endure it!" Kai said. Riolu looked offended as it came at Nidorino's side, thumping it with Force Palm—Riolu ended up being repelled backwards from the attack as if both pokémon were negative electrons. Lucas grimaced, unsure how to beat Kai.

But he remembered as Nidorino was pulled backwards and his barrier risen—_he_ didn't have to beat Kai—James and Brett were fully capable of defeating him themselves. After all, it was every man for himself. And the faster that he could redeem his pride, the better.

James's barrier fell. He was excited to be back in the game again and immediately called, "Renper use Discharge!"

Kai commanded, experimenting in some way that this clash would do something, "Nidorino, Thunderbolt!"

The two electric moves exploded—or at least, on James's side. Discharge erupted from every hairs' end on Luxray's coat, releasing blue lightening in every direction. The lightening ran into the barriers and rebounded in every direction, and they kept bouncing until they could find a way to release their energy—jumping straight for Nidorino. Nidorino's horn shot a brilliant, thin yellow bolt through the air, striking straight through the willy-nilly Discharge like a knife through a napkin, and Thunderbolt struck right into Luxray's chest.

Normally that wouldn't have hurt much, but Nidorino had perfected the move to that it felt like being jabbed by a needle. Luxray instantly felt paralyzing effects, unable to move.

"Renper!" James called, "Are you alright?"

"Now Nidorino, Horn Attack!" Kai said, grinning. Was this his chance to knock down another one?

"Renper!" James called again. His Luxray could hear just fine, but it couldn't find the strength to move its legs or arms. Its chest throbbed in pain and it pulled its head up, focusing on Nidorino who was coming right at it with that damn horn.

And as if by luck, or fate, or some God out there, Nidorino was sent tumbling back into his own area with the barrier reappearing. Brett's barrier swiftly fell, and with it being adjacent to James's, that only made it that much easier to attack.

_I can't lose to this bish, I have to win the trip for Lexi! _Thought James. _She deserves it! Well, so do I...and Imogen...and the rest of the campers..._He shook his head, willing the thoughts away. "Renper, can you move?"

His Luxray gave a nod as the pringly electricity feeling finally dissolved. Lucario started coming at them alarmingly once again, no orders given. Brett was simply an observer of the battlefield from a very close distance, it seemed. Lucario was gathering a blue sphere in its palm as it dashed towards Luxray—

"Luxray use Roar!" James said, hoping that this time it would work. If it didn't work well on small-fighting thing, would it work on bigger-fighting-thing? Luxray steadied its feet to the ground—the sound coming out blew so hard that Brett's crown nearly fell off, and even the audience at the farthest sections of the seating could hear the roar as if it was being yelled right in their ear. Granted, each seat had duel-stereos...

Lucario managed to stay hooked to the ground, with its hand-spikes bolted to the ground—Luxray on the other hand hadn't noticed that the force of Roar pushed it backwards, so far so that it reached the edge of stage—and _slipped!_

The enormous audience gave a loud gasp and the big screen highlighted Luxray, still hanging off the edge of the spinning stage with its claws digging into cracked glass. James cheered his pokémon to get up, slightly worried that it would take the five-foot drop to the ground.

"Lucario, finish it with Close Combat." Brett's smooth-sounding voice was so shocking to hear at this point that James had confused moment—had a stranger just commanded the opponent's pokémon to attack? And now Lucario was coming, those black dreads-looking things flapping behind it—

Lucario fell backwards, struck by the sudden impact of James's barrier rising. Luxray finally managed to pull itself back up when the stage slowed its spinning to a gentle cycle. Lucario winced, pulling out a purple rock from its foot. It still limped, and the poison had reached up to its knee. Kai's barrier fell.

_Yes, another opportunity to kick that kid to the curb, _thought Kai, smirking under his sunglasses.

Lucario appeared in front of Nidorino, no warning, no commands. Apparently, it didn't need it. With an ungraceful and terribly bone-cracking Close Combat, Nidorino was lobbed into the air by Lucario's knee, socked in the gut, upper cut from the chin, and slammed in the side by a foot that knocked the wind out of him. But the time Nidorino hit the ground, the judgebot already held its decision and the pokémon looked like a flattened, lifeless pelt.

"Nidorino is unable to battle." Came the automated voice.

Kai's face turned sour. He returned his pokémon and stepped off the stage once it finished spinning—his pointer finger tapped against his pocket, but he restrained from pressing whatever was in there...

The lines on stage reassessed themselves. So far, Brett had delivered the final blow to both Paru and Kai. Lucas frowned. He would not be next. He refused. He knew he was going to be next, James had fought almost everyone—and he wasn't going to lose to Brett. He had come too far to lose.

"Take a water Luxray, you're fighting tough..." said James as their short intermission continued. He waved a servantbot over with a bowl of water.

"Who's the best?"

Riolu pointed at himself.

"That's right! You da best!" Lucas laughed, high-fiving his pokémon. He was glad he was still able to do that before Riolu developed spikes. "Don't hold back when we're against Brett." He said, rubbing Riolu's head. Riolu smiled in content. "Just because Lucario is your dad..."

Riolu looked down nervously, the determination stripped from its eyes.

"Hey, hey. Look at me." Lucas said, lightly shaking Riolu's tiny shoulders. Riolu forced its head up to look at his blue-haired trainer. "You can do this. _Forget _the stats. Lucario is just as tired as you. We're going to pull out our surprise plan—our _awesome _plan, the one we've been working on." Riolu's eyes widened in surprise and began shaking its head. It knew it wasn't ready. Lucas gave him an encouraging shake. "Yes you _can_."

Another beep blared from the speakers under the stage.

The judgebot's voice said, "Continue."

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_It's getting down to the wire...I'm a little nervous.  
><em>2 people like this

**Serena Valliya **I think it's really sweet that you want Lucas to win :P you're such a great friend to him  
>Jun Kirman likes this<p>

**Jun Kirman **thank you :) oh btw, where's **Irene?**

**Lexi Redstone **Better question—where's **Ashka **and **Gerard**? ;) wink wink nudge nudge  
>Ashka Storme dislikes this, 3 people like this<p>

**Ashka Storme **I can get wifi anywhere I go, u kno.

**Lexi Redstone **dammit -_-  
>Manchuria Grey likes this<p>

**Lexi Redstone **wtf! Are you a guy or girl!  
>Manchuria Grey likes this<p>

* * *

><p>Ashka's Charizard glided across the ocean smoothly—but every now and then it would get nervous and start shifting like an uneasy airplane with two passengers. Gerard never once let go of the styler or came close to dropping it. He was in love with it and the two had only been together for maybe ten minutes. Ashka was beginning to get worried that he was obsessed.<p>

"What does the radar say now?" She asked, holding onto the neck of her Charizard while he held onto her waist with one hand. He didn't hear and she ended up repeating it louder.

"Hey, you don't have to yell!" He said. "Let's see...she stopped moving. We're approaching her..."

"I don't see her boat—" Ashka said, twisting her head to see of the sides of her pokémon, "the only thing under us is water! Where could she go?"

"I imagine...underwater?" He muttered. "I mean, it's not like she can be above us..."

And as if on cue, both of them looked directly up into the clouds, just in case.

And green rings of lights immediately seeped into their vision, emerging from all sides of them. They were floating up, up, unable to move or speak, and even if they could they wouldn't have. Ashka, for once, was a little scared, while Gerard felt an odd familiar sensation.

A blinding light made them shut their eyes and when they reopened, they found themselves in the middle of a control room of a spacecraft inside a beaming tube. Charizard was knocked out cold and slumped with its tail flames glowing faintly.

The side door behind them slid to the to the side. Irene emerged, hair newly brushed and body covered in a red pressure suit fitted for space.

"I'm tired of you guys getting in the way of our plans." She grumbled, stepping closer. Every step seemed to darken the room and blind them in a different way than the tractor beam had.

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a girl—_"foot size"  
>Sherry Brogan replied: wtf?<p>

* * *

><p>The barrier between Lucas and Brett immediately fell following the voice of the judgebot. The stage went off to a wild spin and no one could move, not unless they wanted to fall off the stage. Inertia was funny in that way.<p>

_There's something different about him, _Lucas noticed as the battle commenced. He sent Riolu off with Quick Attack. A shakey run of light almost ran off the edge of the stage, but he caught himself. _He hardly looks like he recognizes me. A few days ago, he did, but he's changed...and I haven't heard from Kari..._Riolu ended up shooting the gun to early and _missed_, and Lucario took this as an opportunity to trip him. Riolu slid painfully on his face.

Lucario found the strength and courage to go against the force trying to push him out of the ring and secured a white glowing bone in its hand. Spinning it, Lucario rushed for Riolu—Riolu stopped Bone Rush with Force Palm, but it came with a price. Riolu's hand hurt so badly it could hardly hold it.

"Shake it off buddy, just shake it off!" Lucas cried. He told Riolu to go with Aura Sphere—Lucario prepared one as well, and it became a matter of power now and who could hold themselves steady on such a fast-moving carousel.

James felt like he was going to barf.

The two orbs were launched, Lucario's first—and since Riolu was small, their aiming region was off—Lucario manage to jump in the air and dodge, but Riolu was knocked off his feet—and from the rapid spinning could not catch a grip, and slid right of the stage.

_Thud. _Riolu hit the ground, eyes shut. The stage immediately began slowing down.

Lucas peered over the edge. He knew his pokémon was done—but the fact that they had lasted this long made him proud enough. Once the stage finally stopped he looked back over to his cousin and smiled. He crossed over the barrier and shook his hand.

"Thanks for the battle, dude." He said. He struggled to say this next, "You...you won fair and square."

Brett shrugged indifferently. "Whatever."

That wasn't exactly the answer Lucas had been hoping for. He was hoping for a reprimanding speech or a pat on the shoulder, but maybe it was because time was limited and they were under millions of eyes that made him cold. Lucas climbed down the steps and picked up his Riolu.

"Riolu is unable to battle. The finalists have been decided." The judgebot announced. The crowd was so loud in praise that the names could hardly be heard. "King Brett Kuso and Lord James Lopreo will be moving on to the final round."

* * *

><p><strong>Paru <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a girl—_"her laugh"

**Lexi Redstone **that's very, very sweet :)

**Paru **I like your laugh too :)

**Lexi Redstone **aww thanks  
>Lucas Taylor dislikes all this mushiness<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Serena's POV<strong>

It happened so fast—I don't know what else to say.

I was rushing down the stands all the way to the bottom to meet with Lucas, to congratulate him even though he lost, but every time I tried to step down someone would get in the way, and I'd have to weave in and out, and it seemed like I'd never reach him. I caught him trying to do the same, to climb up the steps to reach me, but there were people in his way too—left, right, step, excuse me—God, do these people not see the exit signs? Why is this so difficult?

We finally met in the middle and then no one spoke. I waited for him to say something, but I didn't realize he was waiting for me to speak.

"Sorry you lost," was the first thing to come out of my mouth, and reminding him was the last thing I wanted to do. He looked down sorrowfully with those puppy dog eyes, and I pulled him in for a hug. His vest was so damn fluffy, the first attempt was a fail because I couldn't find my arms. Eventually we did share a hug, and it was nice.

That wasn't important though.

We started for the hall to the concession stands, but almost immediately I saw Ms. Megan darting through the crowd, looking for me. I _knew _she was looking for me, and I hadn't expected the ice to melt so quick. Why was she so intent on catching me? I didn't want to be on the run for the rest of my life, but for now I had to hide, and I pulled Lucas along with me towards a different route.

He was surprised and made perverted comments per usual.

We came upon the back hallway with the one vending machine. Then that Ross woman emerged from the double doors at the other end, and behind us, Ms. Megan popped up. Where the _hell _did she come from? They were both creeping towards me cautiously.

Then Lucas said, "What the hell is going on? Ms. Megan?" He didn't know who Ross was I think, but I knew that both of them were against me...and when Lucas turned around, I had shattered somewhere inside. I had become half-pokémon right before his eyes, before all their eyes. The half mask, the ugly grey skin, the putrid rocky wings, they were all there. Lucas could only stare idiotically and back into the nearest wall as Ms. Megan and Ross came close...

"Come with us safely Serena, now..." Ms. Megan warned. Ross whipped out a spherical capsule from her pocket. It wasn't a pokéball, I was sure of that.

"Why does she have to go? Is it because she looks like that?" Lucas said. "Leave her alone!" He was going to reach for his pokéball but I shot him a look to stop—this was _my _fight. But I couldn't fight—I respected Ms. Megan.

"I refuse." I said.

"You're an abomination and need to be stopped." Ms. Megan said.

And every drop of respect I had for her just evaporated.

"Lucas, duck!" I screamed. He dropped to the floor, I whipped up a flurry of icy wind from my fingers—before I could do anymore, a net dropped over my head. And before I could rip it off like an idiotic pokémon wouldn't, something hot zapped through my fingers, fled through my body and shut something off.

Darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Normal POV<strong>

They were in a cell in the basement, he and Serena. He came along, even though Megan urged him not to. He said if she wouldn't take him, he'd tell. He'd tell everything.

He held Serena tightly. He didn't want them to take her away and _do _something, whatever that something was. She stirred slightly, and he released her. She blinked away, took a look at him, and her spirit dropped when she realized where she was. They both looked beyond the glass wall that closed off their cell.

Mr. Bay smirked on the other side.

"You said I was free!" Serena shrieked, hopping to her feet. "You said I could live my life as I wanted and I'd _never _return here!"

Mr. Bay laughed. "I lied, so what? I'm going to hell anyway."

Serena backed up slightly, knowing she couldn't win with a man like him. You would've never thought that he and Daniel were related.

"Sit tight—you and your friend. I'll explain what you will be doing shortly." Mr. Bay's sharp eyes pinned onto Lucas, who could feel his inner fear being ripped up a few layers to show up on his face. "And we'll find a job for your...carry-on."

"Where's Ms. Megan?" Serena asked.

Mr. Bay shrugged. "I don't know. Her job is done." His smirk returned. "Yours has hardly begun."

* * *

><p><strong>Daniel Bay <strong>_**Gerard **__I need my styler back. NOW._

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>voted on poll _The most attractive part of a guy—_"his swagger"  
>2 people like this, 5 people feel neutral<p>

* * *

><p>Jun strode through the halls with purpose.<p>

He had seen the spaceship land outside and cloak—and he knew what was going to happen next. He wasn't going to let it happen.

When he got outside he broke into a run, having to run at least ten minutes before finding Irene far down near the water. He could see the slightly-translucent shadow of the spacecraft against her and the water.

"Irene!" He called, his tone somewhat livid. Her head shot up, but when she realized who it was, she relaxed.

"Oh hey, Jun." She said casually. He saw it in her hand, the remote. Kai's remote.

The one with the single button.

"Don't press that." He said, cutting immediately to the point.

"...What?" She stood up. "Jun, this is beyond both of our control. All the ships are in position. If we don't do this soon, the pups will come. They're _here_, Jun, just as much as we are."

"I don't care about the pups!" He shouted. He didn't even know who the pups were. "If you press that button, I'll—I'll—"

"You'll _what_."

Her hand was against her hip in disbelief. He wouldn't do anything, he was too nice. Jun was a pansy. He would never touch a girl, much less hurt her for a silly remote.

But the look in his eyes threatened to squash that theory.

He lunged for her, she gasped and started maneuvering out of the way. In a scramble of limbs and reaching, they starting tugging on the remote, both avoiding touching the button in the middle.

"Let go!" Irene shouted.

"No! Get rid of this thing! It'll be the death of us!" He replied, tugging harder.

She wouldn't allow the remote to be twisted out of her hands. "This planet is already dying!" She yelled. "You want to know why half this planet is underwater? You want to know why Lilycove is a ruin now instead of a shopping center? It was _us_!" She tugged harder, but he wouldn't budge. "Global warming didn't ruin this world, the Blumans did! We melted the ice caps, abducted the people, we stole the secrets!"

She wrenched it out of his hands.

"And _you _are one of us!" She pointed to the water behind her. "The second you step in there, it's all _blue_! _Blue_-_human_!"

He snatched the remote out of her hand successfully, but she lunged at him again. They pulled and pulled again, a tug of war between a metal object that was too tiny to be fought for between their hands.

"I will never—be—a Bluman!" He shouted.

Someone's hand moved too close,

And the button was pressed.

Irene gasped, immediately letting go. Jun laughed in victory until he realized that the button was not flashing anymore. Irene walked in a circle, a burden now heavy on her shoulders.

"No, no, _no_! We need to get out of here before the spaceships all fall down!" She said. She took a device in the shape of a rectangle from her pocket and pressed it. The enormous spacecraft became visible and the tongue of the landing deck extended to their feet. She began climbing. She reached out a hand to Jun, their previous fight seeming like it was years ago. "Come on Jun! We need to leave!"

"But what about everyone else?" Jun asked, looking back at the stadium. He looked at the sky. Nothing was coming—perhaps the button didn't work?

The sky suddenly flashed green. Jun panicked. He and Irene climbed aboard, and the tongue retracted into the ship.

* * *

><p>The emergency sirens started going off. Daniel didn't know why, but they did, and everything electronic was on the same "emergency" screen, so the computer he was using in the computer lab was caput. He ran to the courtyard. He saw many other people running, but he couldn't identify his campers and without his styler, he was at a disadvantage. The warning siren was so alarming, he thought that maybe it was a tsunami.<p>

Through the running crowd he spotted Megan. His heart jumped for half a second before he realized that whatever was about to happen, he _needed _to be with her. He ran through the crowd, pushing and shoving and not even caring if it was rude. He grabbed her wrist where the gloves didn't cover and pulled her towards him in the midst of the panic. In the midst of robots, pokémon, and people alike all panicking for a reason they didn't know.

They hugged each other quickly, only needing a quick glance to confirm it was each other.

"Where were you?" Daniel said, "I couldn't find you at all! Ross said you were here!"

"I was—busy." Megan hastily answered. "Where's your styler? I tried to call you!"

Surprise surprise, the one time she actually _calls _him and he can't pick up.

"Long story," he said, "But we need to find our kids. Why is the siren going off?"

"I don't know—maybe Rodolfo—" Panic, panic, nothing was going right.

And then there was a crash.

And everything was bathed in an eerie green light that from the courtyard, was very hard to miss.

Daniel looked up to the sky. All he saw was the green light.

"I think we have something _else_ to worry about." He muttered, shielding his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>OKAY. ALRIGHT. BREATH. We have entered the awesome finale.<strong>

**Hi everyone! :3 I'm so glad to see you guys! Winter sports is over so no more Saturdays for swimming :P ALSO. This story has reached 200,000 WORDS. 155 REVIEWS. 5,600 HITS. YES.**

**Thank you SO SO much for being patient. I spent until 11pm to finish this -_- also thank you for the reviews last chapter from **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, **_KingOfStories01_**, and **_BNVshark_**. Thank you all who are still reading, and all who so graciously give feedback with reviews :3**

**Valentines picture? Yes. It's on my profile. GO.**

**Next update? With this one...I'd say...2 weeks? You know, so I can get my act together -.- check back around March 9th, and I'll try my best to update by then. If not, just keep checking for updates on my profile. I usually give my excuse on Fridays.**

**Again, thank you all :3 you'd think this was a closing speech to story...hehe...**

**Thanks for reading! :D**

**P.S. All errors shall be fixed in around 48 hrs..**


	28. Assimilate

**Chapter Twenty-Seven - Assimilate  
><strong>_Day 15, 7:35 pm...around 5 minutes before the ending of last chapter._

It was quiet—maybe too quiet. The door was shut and sealed as normal, and James had on a pair of one of Lexi's pink headphones that he borrowed so the thick atmosphere didn't alert him. He was focusing on cracking the code—he was so very close—just one last variable to check—

"Shazam!" He cried, slamming down the laptop. "I FOUND IT!" With momentous joy he sprung from the suite bed and swished his hips and bumped his arms around, knocking the headphones off his ears and the screen shades from the bridge of his nose. Mid-dance he stopped and quickly wrote down the coordinates before he forgot them.

Just in case, he went to Google Space Maps and typed in the coordinates. The process would take a few minutes, so he closed the laptop and stuck it into his pocket. Then he resumed to dance around, wearing the cool headphones and glasses again.

_I did it! I did it! Yo lo hice, I did it! I cracked the code! _He was so proud he couldn't wait to tell anyone! Oh—but who to tell first? Lexi was at the beach pier departing from her parents who were taking a ship back to shore while Daniel was—err—it was really hard to tell, he could be anywhere on the island. Serena had gone somewhere too, and he wasn't too fond on speaking to Ashka or Gerard either...

He skipped down the hallway, half victory-geek dancing with the folded laptop creeping out his pocket. As he navigated around he failed to realize the absence of people, or moving sidewalks, or helpful 'bots. Either from the amazing discovery or from the loud music drumming in his ears, he was only half there.

He came upon the lobby now, after stepping on the wet carpeting next to the girls' bathroom. His mind came into focus now when he noticed all the TVs were off their regular pokéball screensaver. Cautiously he took off the glasses and slid off the headphones.

And he finally heard the screams.

He rushed through the hall to the courtyard—he stopped mid-way, peering through the concrete columns to the sky that continued to flash an eerie, bright green color. A pent up emotion, within him in a cauldron—it was bubbling, and it was urged to be coughed out—excitement, he couldn't contain it—

"_ALIENS_!" He yelled in a combination of mixture and disbelief.

It set off the gathering crowd, from whispers and murmurs to calls and yells and then—screams. Now there were shapes in the clouds—triangles, like a bowl of tortilla chips, all silhouettes, going on for miles and miles in the clouds, no gaps—and the people in the courtyard were panicking and screeching even louder now, screaming that the robots had all dropped dead. Like frightened birds, almost all the people scattered.

James hugged the concrete arch, hoping to God that no one would squish him.

* * *

><p><strong>Sherry Brogan <strong>_Has axxxxe else xxxicxd xhat xx xxes axx prxxtier xxxx xhe sxy? xxah ;x_

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* * *

><p><em>About 5 minutes earlier<em>...

"Bye mom-unit! Bye dad-unit!" called Lexi from the edge of the pier, "Bye Jen, Terrance, Shane, Corey, Ashley, Candy, Lyla, Janine, and Kimberley! Take care! See you all in a few weeks!"

She rested her arm, smiling contently at the amount of hands that as equally enthusiastically waved their last goodbyes. The ship her family was on already disappeared into the night, and all the lights were hazed out from the fog. Her sideburn-rubbing friend sat on the bench behind her and watched her sigh at the sappy departing scene that occurred minutes ago.

"Must be a pain in the ass to remember all those names." Paru said once she finally turned around.

She shrugged. "I've grown up with them. We all share 3 crammed bathrooms. The mornings get interesting." She took the seat next to him on the chillingly cold metal bench. Paru stared down at the rippling ocean waters while Lexi stared longingly at the sky and the grey clouds that covered the stars.

"What is..." She started—Paru turned. "Do you see that? That _triangle _shaped thing in the smog?"

"No. I see _several_ triangle shaped things in the smog."

Both their necks pointed upwards for further analysis. Around them, 'bots dropped to the ground without warning, happy emote screens blinking out, and regular civilians were beginning to get worried. The fog horn from another ship was impossibly drowned out by someone screaming,

"ALIENS!"

"Doesn't that sound like James?" Lexi noticed, turning her head to look at Paru.

He nudged her to look back up and pointed.

She had mistaken one triangle for a mural of hundreds—or possibly thousands—of triangles. Their presence created no gap in the sky as far as the eye could see. Lights were searing through the smog, further outlining the triangles, and they would flash green periodically. Lexi instinctively reached for Paru's wrist in preparations of some kind of escape. When the smog suddenly cleared like a blown out candle, Paru slid his hand back and held hers tightly.

Spaceships. They were spaceships. And by the formation and number of them, it was clear that it was an armada.

"Frak," Paru could only utter when the first beam of neon green sliced through the air, into the stadium.

The two shot up from their seats and began running, hand in hand, towards the lobby doors—between the others screaming bloody murder and running in the way, dodging more of the beams and the groups of spaceships concentrating on this area—and a person who was running _directly_ on their left was touched by the beam of light—instantly, their particles flew up to the mouth of the spaceship that shot it.

Paru and Lexi didn't share a look. They continued running as if their lives depended on it, which it probably did. The lobby doors were locked with Nicolas on the other side holding the master remote.

Behind them, trainers were releasing pokémon to fly off the island, but some only got so far before being captured by the spaceships. The sound of the tractor beams were loud and startling and the closer they got the more serious it felt, and Paru pounded on the glass for Nicolas to pay attention.

"Open the door, dammit!" Lexi shrieked.

"Wha ba?" Nicolas was confused. He dropped the remote.

"I've seen what aliens do to humans in movies." Paru said dejectedly, setting his head to the glass. "They drill screwdrivers into foreheads, which if you think about it is really inefficient considering the skull and blood and brain splatters and—"

"Don't think like that!" Lexi shrieked. "We're going to survive this!" He gave her a look. "We can hide underground!" She shot back to his expression. "These _things _aren't going to abduct us, okay?"

Both dropped to the concrete when a green stream of light blasted right between them, knocking into the glass. Nicolas screamed in fright, dropped to all fours, and scurried deep into the lobby where the rest of the population was hiding. Rodolfo was nonchalantly walking down the red carpet of the lobby as if this "green light special" wasn't significant to his existence.

Behind the two on the other side of the door, one of the spaceships was so close that its nose tip could puncture the building. The marquee lights at the bottom of the ship reflected on the grass and they could faintly see the opening of the spaceship—a swirly portal looking thing, for beaming up things no doubt.

"Let us in!" Lexi cried urgently, banging on the door again.

"What's the magic word darling?" Rodolfo cooed, swiping the master remote from the floor.

"PLEASE, DAMMIT BEFORE THE FREAKS IN FOIL SUITS BEAM DOWN WITH THEIR LASERS!" Paru shouted. Lexi gave him a strange look for a half second.

Rodolfo shrugged. "Alright."

The doors zinged open. Lexi and Paru scrambled inside—a tractor beam _lit _into the hall—screams filtered throughout the lobby where other refugees had hidden—the beam took the carpet, a few plants, and somehow, _only_ Rodolfo's shoe. Lexi frantically snatched the remote from Rodolfo and closed the doors, sealed it shut, and put it under security mode. Thick metal sheets closed around it so they couldn't see through it.

Rodolfo snatched back the remote when she let out a breath of relief. "Rude!" He shrieked, striking his nose into the air.

* * *

><p>There were <em>so many <em>ships, so many that Irene's novice spaceship steering had them flying upside-down into a V-formation of ships. She knew Kai wouldn't like that once he heard the bunt end of it. Jun became a back-seat driver, frantically shrieking into her ear to turn left and right and "watch out for that tree!", to which she smacked him for just for wasting his breath. In a matter of seconds the two had flown past the armada and were now safe miles above the Earth, out of the abduction beams of the others.

Irene sighed, placing the spaceship on hovermode so they were just an entity in a smog cloud. She was now her entirely Bluman self, with no shame in her appearance. Jun was not comfortable with what was happening and the guilt ripped through him like ferocious spider climbing through his insides. He kept himself at a regular appearance, although every now and then Irene would offer him a bottle of water to drench off the cover up.

The two sat behind the dashboard, watching the feeds from the other ships. Humans and pokémon alike were being abducted and taken away. They got feeds from Lilycove, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and from almost every major city across Oceania. Holon and Sohjay were left relatively untouched, whereas no feeds have transmitted.

Jun swiveled his chair to turn away from the screen projected in front of the dashboard. He didn't like it and he wasn't going to lie—he still wanted to stop it.

"Isn't this...immoral?" He said, leaning his chin on his fist. Irene pulled down her headphones and turned to face him.

"What? The abduction?" She asked. He nodded solemnly. "I dunno. Morality wasn't in the equation when Kai explained his plan to me."

"Is this what Krude really wanted? To take over Earth?" He continued to question. "What about the other continents? We're only Oceania. What about Europe and Asia and Africa? What about them?"

Irene was tempted to glare at him for such a complex question. Why couldn't he accept the facts and roll with it like she did? "Here's how I see it—" she started, turning her seat back to the dashboard.

She opened the internet browser and pulled up the map of the world. Oceania was a midget compared to all the other continents that they hardly interacted with. The other countries had more restrictions on journeying and had exotic breeds of pokémon and plants they've never heard of.

She made points around the map with her finger, which interacted with the map and made marks. "We are _here_." She circled Hoenn. "Holon is the capital. Whatever happens at Holon, happens everywhere else in Oceania."

"Okay, I get that. That's why Kai implemented the one-pokémon policy right?" Jun asked.

"Yeah." Irene said. "Oh—and I picked up all your pokémon from the pokémon center just in case you said yes." Her cat smirk wasn't well hidden. She had predicted very well into the future to believe that Jun would come aboard the ship with her. Jun was merrily relieved that he didn't have to go back to a pokémon center to retrieve his pokémon.

"So the other countries then?"

"Right." Irene turned back to the map. "Kai is starting with Oceania...tomorrow some of our envoys that replaced the leaders of the other countries are going to call the signals for the ships. I guarantee that the whole globe won't agree, so we'll probably have to abduct a few million people to get the idea into their head."

"Will a million people fit in Krude?" asked Jun, amazed at the number of people that she was anticipating.

"I think so. Marrion is a huge planet with a lot of undeveloped land. We could use a million people to expand." Irene muttered. "This world will be ours in a matter of days, you'll see." She closed the map. He noticed the slight frown on her face. "It wasn't meant to go to the whole world." She admitted in a mutter. "We just wanted to be accepted back into society. We didn't want to take over it completely." She stood up and started for the bathroom where she sat for contemplation. "It was Kai's idea." Was the last thing he heard before she shut the door.

Jun sat back, still unsure what he wanted to do. He had a window of time now that Irene was in the bathroom. He could always lock her inside—but then it would give him away. There had to be something he could do...He got up and began walking around the ship. Irene had warned him that he would get lost if he strayed anywhere from the control room, but he was convinced that there was something in here that could help him.

He started downstairs. The hallway was narrow and branched off into rooms but all of them were empty—there was just a kitchen, an in-home theater, bathrooms, guest bedrooms, game rooms, and then an observation deck below the nose of the ship where he could see the sky from a completely glassed in wall.

Bored, he returned to the control room after navigating around the ship. It wasn't nearly as big as the other ones that were invading the regions—this spaceship was used strictly for traveling from one planet to another, not for military conquest. When he found his way back to the controls he found that Irene was still in the bathroom.

He discovered another door he hadn't seen before because of the dark lighting, right across the stairwell. He ventured inside.

The first thing he notices is Ashka and Gerard inside a tubed cell.

Gerard forlornly sits against the wall and stares at the ceiling, looking as though he had completely given up on ever returning to the regular life he used to hold. Ashka sat next to him, staring deadly ahead. Once the door swiped to the side and there stood Jun, her eyes fixated against him. Her burning glare made it clear to him that she was labeling him as a traitor.

"What are you guys doing here...?" Jun asked, stepping closer. The only response they both gave were eyes of a feline preparing to strike. He turned around to check the bathroom door directly across, but Irene had yet to emerge from it. She must've just been there, sitting on the covered seat and reading 'Take over the World' monthly.

"I knew you were one of them." Ashka finally hissed, rising from the ground. Despite having been knocked down and exiled to an aquarium, she stood solid and defiant. She had a glow around her that seemed to rock the cage. If she was a pokémon, she could've definitely broken the glass with her mood.

"I'm sorry," Jun apologized. "I didn't want to do this, r—really, I don't..."

"Then get us out of here." She replied, her tone still over the border with clawing anger.

"Do what she says." Gerard said, appearing at her side.

Jun looked down at the device in Gerard's palm. "Isn't that Mr. Daniel's styler?"

Ashka smacked the side of her fist onto the glass. "Dammit Jun, get us out of here! We're wasting time!"

"So you know my name." Jun hadn't meant to make his smirk look malevolent, but that's how it turned out when he realized he wasn't the ignored guy of the group as he had thought he was. Or maybe he was ignored—but at least they knew he existed.

"Of course we know you're name. You lived in White Forest for a few years for Christ's sake." Gerard deadpanned. "Now open the damn door, got it?"

"You promise not to hurt me, right?" Jun checked. The two gave a single austere nod. He reached for the panel beside the doorway and swiped it with his hand. The door slid open. The two walked out, and Jun hesitantly watched them—

Ashka whipped around, slammed her fist into his nose, took his shoulders while his hands were cupping his face, and threw him into the cell. Quickly she shut the door, leaving Jun holding his stinging nose in confusion with eyes strained to look up at them.

"What the—" Jun started, only to be muted when Ashka muted the cell.

Gerard shook his head at her. "Was that absolutely necessary?"

"I'm not trusting any of them." She muttered, stomping into the control room.

"You didn't have to hit him!" He whispered after her. She made a motion, pointing to the bathroom door. He nodded and began locking it from the outside.

Ashka came upon the dashboard. It was a computer with another panel completely devoted to buttons and levers, and with her zero experience with driving, she had no clue how to start with a spaceship of this size. She found the button to press to turn off hovermode, but after that she didn't know what to do. She sat down and took ahold of the two-fisted steering wheel.

"Up is down and down is up, left is left and right is right. Right?" She muttered to herself, testing out the wheel. It was just like the one James used for the hovercraft. She tried to remember how he steered, yet the only memories coming up were the ones where she greatly felt like barfing on Gerard's lap.

"It's locked," Gerard said, "Hurry and get us moving!"

Ashka tried to take them off hovermode, but the second she did a warning message came up. _A giant wave is heading for Fortree._

It'll be coming for them in Lilycove minutes after.

* * *

><p>The madness of abduction had finally paused, and the rangers somehow were still standing in the courtyard amidst the scattered leaves and robots when the others were sucked into those spaceships.<p>

"Why did they stop?" Megan asked Daniel in a frantic whisper. Both of them were hidden between the back of a wooden bench and a wide, prickly bush.

"I don't know. Stay down." He whispered. Above them one of the ships had taken the initiative to come down and was now casting a shadow over the entire stadium—or at least, a shadow from the moon. The portal at the bottom of the triangular shaped ship lit the courtyard with light, but the rangers hesitated to move in case they were spotted.

A beam shot forth from the ship and something dropped onto the ground. The ship rose back up into the air, far into the sky.

What was dropped was a Gyarados. A furious one.

The ships began to disperse from the sky, soaring in different directions but somehow still looking like a perfectly executed drill exit. Gyarados began screeching at once and thrashed. It became obvious that it was dropped here to destroy the stadium. With the spaceship threat absent, Megan pulled her styler out from her belt and stepped away from the bushes.

"Come on Daniel!" She said, preparing her baton.

"I don't have my styler!" He wailed embarrassingly. She tossed him a look of disbelief before going after Gyarados herself. "I'm sorry!" He called. She shook her head and aimed her styler.

Gyarados's were serpent beasts of the sea, more powerful than Milotics and faster prone to anger. It was a test of Megan's B-rank ranger skills to stop an animal that was toyed and tortured by aliens for who knows how long. It must've been from their planet—it had a strange, indigo scale color instead of cerulean. When Gyarados used Fire Blast on the surrounding buildings, the fire was blue too.

"Capture, on!" She called in a powerful voice that oddly turned Daniel on. With her baton and styler, she wrangled Gyarados into a clean white ring of light. Gyarados thrashed and swung around, but she expertly widened and narrowed the rings when necessary. Daniel nodded and cheered her on. In a final swoop downwards she sliced the baton, and the ring of light absorbed into Gyarados's skin.

Gyarados flung itself into the left side of the building. A great crash sounded through the area as glass and concrete walls collapsed, and shrieks of fright rang through.

"It didn't work!" Megan said worriedly, checking her styler. "Where's _your _styler?" she said to Daniel.

He shrugged apologetically. "Gerard has it! I'm sorry!"

"Why would—" her words were cut off by a loud siren sound that looped up and down in pitch. The two rangers' eyes widen. They were familiar with the alarm.

Tsunami.

"We need to get to high ground—" said Daniel,

"But the Gyarados!" cried Megan,

"OH MY GOD. THE INTERNET ISN'T WORKING ANYMORE!" James cried, still clinging to the pole in the hallway to the courtyard. "The world is ending! 3012! Listen to those sirens!"

"James, calm down! It's just a tsunami!" Daniel yelled from faraway.

"_Just _a tsunami!"

"Wrong choice of words." Daniel muttered. "Go find the others and bring them underground! Don't worry about us!"

James nodded and quickly turned back to the lobby. The triangular ships overhead were returning. Daniel took Megan's hand and started pulling her towards the hallway but she refused to leave without Gyarados calmed. It continued to destroy the left side of the stadium.

A beam of light spotlighted on Megan, and she began floating up against her will—her eyes widened, Daniel grabbed her wrist with both hands and pulled—

"AHH! Daniel, get the Gyarados, not me!" She cried.

She was trying to wiggle out of his grasp. "Are you insane! I'm not leaving you in the hands of the Blumans!" He yelled, pulling harder. He could feel his feet starting to come off the ground. He wound his leg against a pole and tugged on Megan's arm.

"It's no use! It all goes downhill from here!" She said, her eyes looking gravely sad at him. "I'm sorry...! If I don't make it through this, you can find someone else! I understand!"

"Don't talk like that!" He barked. "The only one I want is _you_! You and only you!"

Her eyes softened and he strained himself not to look at her. "...Really? Only me?"

"Of course only you..." He said, looking back up at her. "There's no one else I rather wait for at the altar!"

Her expression melted to relief and happiness and for a brief second, he forgot that he was trying to save her and loosened his grip, only to realize once she started flying up into the green light.

She gasped, and her tears twinkled beside her. "Dan—" she could not finish the sentence because she turned into particles, and then finally sucked into the large spaceship. The spaceship disappeared into the skies.

"Megan!" He called agonizingly. He couldn't believe that just happened. The spaceship will bring her back, right? Right? The tsunami siren sounded again and James ran towards him with Lexi and Paru following.

"We can't find anyone else!" James wailed. "Everyone is gone! Ashka, Gerard, Jun, Irene, Lucas, and Serena! All of them!"

"I told you guys to get underground!" Daniel yelled. "We don't have much time!"

"He's right. They had live coverage of the tsunami. It just hit Fortree." Paru said surprisingly calmly. "I could tell you where it was now if the internet hadn't blown out."

"What do we do Mr. Daniel?" Lexi asked. "My family just went on a boat back to shore! What's going to happen to them?"

"They should be fine, boats turn into submarines." Daniel said. "We need to worry about the others! What about Mr. Valacio? What about Amber and Imogen and Sherry? And damn, don't tell me you left Nicolas out."

"They're all underground." Lexi said. "But we can't find the others!"

Gyarados gave another screech. This time it was hit by something in the sky—a laser—from a similar triangular ship that abducted Megan, only this one was smaller. It lowered all the way down to the courtyard in front of the 3. All of them stared at the spaceship nervously, unprepared for what was to come out of it.

But—they saw Gerard waving to them from the nose of the ship, at the bottom level.

"Is that..._Gerard_?" Lexi said in disbelief, a smile upturning on her lips.

"What's he doing in there?" Paru wondered.

Part of the glass in front of Gerard must've had a door because he opened it and beckoned for them to come in. "Come on guys!" He shouted. "The tsunami is almost here!" They all ran, and once inside almost all of them gave a breath of relief.

"Who else is in here with you?" Daniel asked, graciously receiving his styler back.

"Ashka, Irene, and Jun." Gerard answered, closing the door. "I'll explain later." He took a CV radio from the side of the wall and spoke into it. "Ashka, let's go! I've got everyone!" He looked back at the others. "Where's Ms. Megan?"

Daniel looked downcast at the floor. "Gone." He muttered. The others understood instantly and their faces turned sour. The spaceship began moving up slowly. They could see black, sludgy, chunky water lapping over the stadium, flooding into the courtyard, swallowing the Gyarados, busting open windows, dowsing the fires, everything. All the stuff they left there was likely lost.

"My God..." Lexi muttered, watching the scene from the edge.

"Wait," Daniel said, taking the CV radio from Gerard. "Ashka, stop the ship! I see Rodolfo!"

"You're going to _save _him?" James asked with a lifted eyebrow. Ashka repeated those same words on the other end.

"A person is a person, no matter how much of a scumbag he is." Daniel muttered. The ship lowered to above the roof to where Rodolfo was standing, hands on hips with his hair flying behind him. Daniel opened the door and reached out a hand. "Rodolfo, over here! Come on!"

"What for?" Rodolfo spat. The black sludge was rising, pent up, threatening to seep over the stadium that it already gulped down. The giant tidal wave had left no traces behind it. "Why would I want to ride in _that _God awful looking thing with _you_?"

"Tsunami?" Daniel said, pointing. "Do you _not _see the urgency of the situation?"

"No!" Rodolfo said defiantly, shaking his head. "You are being _ridiculous_! There IS not, WILL not, and will _never_ be a tsunami to consume a heavenly man like me! A low ranking ranger like yourself should not be making notions like that!"

A wave of water surged through, smacking into Rodolfo's chest. By the looks of his almost-hidden expression, something sharp had punctured him.

"Rodolfo!" Daniel yelled, reaching for him as he floated closer—the ship pulled up, out of reach, and Rodolfo was completely smothered. The black water of mixed in things had taken him completely. When the ship had backed up even further to see the whole island, it seemed that the tsunami had swallowed the entire thing.

"And now there is no Lilycove at all." James muttered, looking sadly at what once had been.

Daniel checked the radar.

Even if Rodolfo had his styler, it wouldn't have registered.

* * *

><p>Everyone was sitting in the control room now. James took co-captain seat next to Ashka to aid in driving the ship, despite her steady control from earlier. They navigated above the underwater city of Sootopolis a few 50 miles from Lilycove. It was untouched by the aliens and they didn't see any more ships in the sky. They turned off the motor and sat underwater.<p>

The situation was explained in detail by Daniel who had confirmed that all of them would probably be going home after this. If they were going to live in the hands of alien overlords, the best for them was to be in the comfort of their own homes. The teens looked crestfallen by then.

Ashka and Gerard then told of the two hostages they were harboring themselves. Lexi, James, Paru, and Daniel were visibly freaked that both Irene and Jun had deceived them the whole time. James thought it was pretty cool, but he decided not to voice it since the others had put them in bad sentiments.

"What are we going to do now?" Lexi asked, slumping her arms in her spinning chair.

"Like I said...home. All of you." Daniel said, looking to the downcasted eyes around the cabin. "Who knows what's going to happen now that the Blumans are here. All of our lives are going to change." He grimaced. "There's nowhere to hide now."

"What I don't get—" James said, catching everyone's attention, "Why did they abduct all those people? Why abduct if they're only going to take over our governments?"

"It's easier when the numbers against you are smaller." Daniel answered. "I only hope that Megan and Lucas and Serena are okay..."

In the moment of silence, a banging on one of the nearby doors had the others turning their heads to find the source of the sound. "Let me out!" cried the muffled voice.

"You locked Irene in the bathroom?" Daniel lifted his eyebrow at Ashka.

She shrugged. "The girl is crazy! I didn't want her to slit my throat."

"Unlock the door. I'll take care of her."

"She's going to try to reach for the controls." Ashka protested. There was a tense moment where both of their authorities were tested. She sighed. "Fine...just don't let her touch the controls." She beckoned for Gerard to unlock the door. He and Daniel went to the door, preparing to catch the beast banging on the door incessantly. Once the lock was undone and the door slid open, Irene yelped in surprise as the two guys each took one of her arms and lifted her inches into the air so that her feet hung.

"Let go! Let go of me!" She said. Part of her had been assaulted by the fact that she was the only blue thing in a room of cream and tan. She was embarrassed.

"You have questions to answer." Gerard said.

"And don't give us crap either." Daniel added. Irene pouted and struggled to get out of their grip, but even if she did she wouldn't know what to do next. The two guys sat her in a chair and hovered over her, casting shadows, unabling her to leave. Lexi and Ashka gave her an intimidating stare and Paru boredly looked around.

"Shouldn't we be questioning Jun too?" Paru asked.

"That idiot doesn't know shazz." Irene barked. Daniel tightened his grip on her wrist and she winced.

"Answer us truthfully. _Why _are you guys here?" He said.

"Really? That's the question we're going with?" Ashka asked. "I want hardcore answers that make her sweat! She ruined my summer vacation, dammit!"

"Oh please, I made it a hundred percent more exciting!" Irene spat, shaking her blue hair around wildly. Gerard and Daniel pressed her back into the chair when she tried to rise.

"Answer mine." Daniel said.

"We're here because we want to be!" Irene shouted, angrily battling his calm expression with her wild one. "We want what you guys have! An internet! A beautiful, problem free world! Millions of cultures instead of one dead one that branched from yours!"

"I'm not understanding." Gerard muttered.

"Let's try something else." Daniel muttered. "Irene. Who do we go to to stop this?"

"Stop this?" Irene said, giving a bitter laugh. "There's nothing to stop. It's all going according to plan. It's too grand scale to stop. No one can stop us." She added emphasis. "_No one._"

"Guys, I see something outside." James said from the dashboard.

Daniel shushed him with his hand. "Irene," Daniel said, "You know this isn't right. You've grown up on Earth. You're a human who happens to be blue skinned with...oddly shaped ears. Do you want your freedoms to be stripped from you when the aliens take over?"

"I _am _an alien." She replied proudly, her eyes narrowing. "_My _freedom won't be affected. Yours, on the other hand, _will_." Ashka wanted to smack that smug smile off her lips.

Gerard sighed. "We won't be able to get anything out of her. She doesn't know anything."

Irene glared. "I know plenty! And if you think I'm going to tell the likes of you, you're damn wrong!"

Daniel nodded. "Stuff her back into the bathroom."

After great struggle and Irene constantly screaming "No! No!", she was finally thrown back into the bathroom and locked inside. They didn't know what to do with her—if she wouldn't speak, she was useless.

The cabin rumbled and rocked to the left, jerking everyone in that direction. With several shrieks of surprise, Ashka and James returned to the dashboard and addressed every new problem that was popping up in red.

"We're hit!" James cried.

"By what?" Ashka said, searching the screen and complex buttons. "There's nothing out here!" James pulled up the radar. The grid was flooded by hundreds of blinking circles. They were surrounded.

"They're cloaked," Daniel said, sitting quickly and fastening his seatbelt. "Everyone hang on! Ashka get us out of here!"

Ashka pulled the steering wheel down full throttle, and due to not starting up correctly the ship jolted up and down, jerked the passengers, and James smacked his forehead on the windshield. He was glued to the ground as the ship sky rocketed into the air, faster and higher than they had ever gone. Gerard inched towards the dashboard and slammed his hand down on a sensor. The ship came to an abrupt stop, pushing everyone forward.

"Ow!" James said, smacking his head on Ashka's chair. "What the hell..." He muttered.

"What _was _that?" Ashka asked, turning to the others with disbelief. Lexi shrugged, trying to fix her hair from that rushing experience, while Daniel was holding his head and trying to get that combobulated feeling out of his stomach. Paru stared calmly ahead at the windshield.

"I saw them." Paru said.

Lexi turned and stared at him oddly, as did Ashka. "You did?" Lexi said.

"You couldn't have." Ashka stated. "They were invisible."

Paru shrugged. "Might be from my eye balls being burned out from hundreds of hours on the television...but...I saw those ships. Pretty hazy, don't get me wrong. My vision is crap. The ships were different...same design as ours, bigger, but the color was different. It was uhh...red and white. Striped."

"Like a peppermint?" James suggested.

Paru snapped his finger. "Yes. That. Odd design if you ask me."

Ashka and Gerard swapped glances. "That isn't a Bluman ship." She said.

"Do you think..." Gerard started. Their eyes shared a similar memory—just a few hours ago, right before Kai's battle, when they were eavesdropping on him and Irene. "The Pups?"

"You know, it'd be nice if you spoke louder so the rest of us could hear." Lexi said albeit a little obnoxiously. "Unless—if you're going to confess your love you shouldn't do it with so many people around!"

The two ignored her and turned to Daniel. Ashka spoke. "It's a different race of aliens." She said. "Irene called them Pups. I heard her talking about it with an accomplice."

Daniel nodded. "We should get farther away. Navigate us to Mossdeep."

* * *

><p>Daniel had left the kids in charge of the ship a few steps outside of town on cloak once they landed in on the mountainous island of Mossdeep. Although he had said he was only going to buy fuel (premium kind, since he wasn't sure what it took), many of the campers thought he was going around town to say hi to old friends or to see his dad. Daniel didn't have that kind of relationship with his father to visit him first. Lexi suggested that he was going to see an ex-girlfriend, though Ashka was quick to shoot her down with the fact that Megan had been abducted, and the last thing Daniel probably wanted to do was fish for another girl so early in a grieving period.<p>

"I'm hungry. Do you think Mr. Daniel will bring back snacks?" James asked, twirling side to side in his chair.

"We should call him and order something." Lexi agreed, pulling out her 'Gear from her pocket.

"Won't work." Ashka reminded. "Connection has been down ever since those aliens came in."

Lexi 'oh'd and slipped it back into her pocket. "How inconvenient." She muttered. "No internet, no phone. It's that magnetic storm all over again. Hmm...I hope my family is alright." She looked over to Ashka. "Hey Ashka, do you think your family is okay?"

Lexi's question seemed to hit a barrier that caught Ashka's attention. She didn't usually talk about her family, but being defensive or stubborn so early in an argument was petty. She had worries she wanted to get off her chest, too. She shrugged. "I dunno. I hope so."

"The invasion hasn't hit Unova yet." Gerard said. The others nodded in acknowledgement. If they could still access the internet, they would've seen hundreds of newspaper reports pop up about the invasion.

James stood and skidded away from the group, although none of them had paid attention to him anyway. He slipped into the room across from the bathroom where the cell was. He stared at Jun, who just sat there picking at his nails, in fascination.

"Are you guys going to let me out now?" Jun asked. "I didn't do anything!"

James came closer and analyzed Jun. Jun was greatly weirded out by his acquaintance. "Why aren't you blue?" James asked.

"I'm not blue." Jun said quickly. "I was never blue. What're you talking about?"

"We know you're a Bluman. We know what you and Irene are." James said. "Whose your leader huh? Who do we talk to ta rough up?"

Although Jun was certain James could do zero physical damage to anyone, he nevertheless gave truthful answers in hopes that it would lead to a closer freedom. "Last time I checked, Kai was head honcho. He's not being reasonable at the moment."

"Where is he?"

"I'm not sure, at the capital maybe..." Jun muttered.

"James, come here!" Lexi called from the cabin. "Something just came up on the screen! ...Ashka don't press it! It could be a virus!"

James scurried out of the room and shut it, leaving Jun alone. Jun grimaced and stared down at the pristine floor again. He was bored and antsy in here, and he didn't feel at fault for what happened. He wasn't the one sent out those fleets—at least, he didn't think he did. He scraped at a mosquito bite and the cover up shaved off. At the sight of blue he stopped scratching and hid the arm behind his back.

James joined everyone at the cabin, standing up and hovering around the dashboard as the windshield monitor gave an image of a video that was waiting to be played.

"Why would it be a virus? It's a video." Ashka retorted to what Lexi had said moments ago.

"How would you know? Scams come in every size these days!" Lexi shrieked.

"We'll never know until we find out." Gerard said, touching the middle of the screen.

"It's a live feed." James said. On the screen at the moment were birds-eye views of cities around Oceania, with past clips of abductions and buildings getting bombed and lasered. Fires broke out and buildings fell, but most of the destruction took place in Hoenn and Kanto. The tsunami also went by on the screen but there was no narration from the news anchors. On the ticker tapes at the bottom of the screen were, _major blackouts all over the country _and _internet inaccessible worldwide_. Those two situations scared James to hide behind Paru.

The feed cut to a room in Holon. It was the president's office which is usually never taped for broadcast so having the scenery there brought confusion to the teens. The fact that Kai was sitting there instead of their president made it even more unsettling. And Kai was blue, trumpet ears and all.

"_Is it on?" _Kai was asking someone behind the camera. With a nod to the camera he scooted back into his chair and smirked into the camera. "_Good evening humans! I am Kai, and as you can tell, I am blue. Me and my friends here are going to have _fun_ on your planet._" He was surrounded by others of his kind with laser rifles in the military uniforms. "_I'll be leading your country now. All of your government is under my control. The one pokémon policy still stands; also, we'll be taking one person and pokémon from every household and shipping them to my home planet. We need the genetics, you see. It'll be a good experience." _His tone and smirk could prove otherwise.

"Damn him." Ashka muttered.

"To think he and Jun are friends." Lexi muttered with disgust.

"We have to go to _his _home planet? Are there good shows there?" Paru wondered. Ashka and Gerard glared at him for having a positive view on the intruding race.

The camera panned out to show the entire office. Things were moved aside and two people were on the far left. Both were frozen in place by a pokémon's Psychic and had bandana's tied around their eyes.

"Oh my God! It's Kay and Elliot!" Lexi said, pointing.

"Oh no..." Ashka muttered. She had a bad feeling that their time there wouldn't be pleasant.

Kai turned back to the camera and accepted a laser rifle from one of the guards beside him. "_This is a warning for anyone who tries to stop us._"

"_Wait, what's he going to do?_" Kay asked worriedly. Elliot muttered for her to shut up.

Kai switched around the ammo for his rifle. He aimed.

_BAM! BAM!_

Kay and Elliot were shot in the chests. Both were dead before they hit the floor.

Lexi gasped, turning her eyes away. Ashka grimaced and pulled her eyes to Gerard's chest. Gerard wrapped his arms around Ashka and rubbed her back, telling her that it's alright although it clearly wasn't. Paru gave a rude whistle, mimicking the sound of a bomb falling, that had Lexi glaring daggers. James turned his eyes away as well.

The camera returned to Kai's face. "_I won't hesitate. Defy us, and you'll get the same treatment. Goodnight, all._" The feed cut off. Lexi couldn't stand at the thought, and she had to take a seat on one of the benches. Two people that all of them had known—each creating different experiences for them—had just been killed right in front of them, in front of millions of eyes. Elliot, although he had been a jerk to most of them, he didn't deserve to die like that—not in the hands of Kai. There must've been good in him—there _must've_—he loved Kay, and she had been with him even when he got physical. And Kay—although the teens didn't know her as well, they knew that an innocent, bright flame had just been blown out just to make a point.

Ashka pulled away from Gerard and slammed her fist on the windshield. She wanted to break it. "Damn him. Damn him to hell." She hissed, glaring towards the ground.

* * *

><p>"You've got the coordinates?"<p>

"Yes sir Mr. Daniel sir!"

"Good." Daniel moved aside so James could reach the QWERTY keys. "Type them in for me." The decision sounded made but Daniel gave no elaboration to what they were going to do. Paru, Gerard, and Lexi were downstairs in the game rooms, trying to occupy themselves until a plan was made.

"Wait, so we're going to their planet?" Ashka asked, rolling up to the dashboard with her chair.

"No..._I'm _going to their planet." Daniel said. "I'm dropping you guys off at home."

"Alone?" James said, lifting an eyebrow.

"If you leave us at home, we might get sent there!" Ashka protested. "First borns are shoe-ins for first selection! I'd be better off risking my life with you on the ship!"

"No!" Daniel immediately replied. "I'm not risking your life! You don't know what could happen out there! I don't want to be responsible if you get blasted like Elliot or Kay!"

It had shut her up, sure, but it had also laid a blanket of grief on them again. Ashka shook her head. "I'd pretty much be a sex slave over there, bearing babies for their "genetic pool". You want that?" She asked, crossing her arms. Daniel sighed and shook his head. Of course he didn't want that.

"I don't want your head to be on the Summer Trek's shoulders..." Daniel muttered. "You lost all your stuff in the tsunami...even some of your pokémon..."

"My pokémon are all at home." Ashka retorted before he had anything mistaken. She would never put the lives of her pokémon at risk like she was doing. "And I refuse to get off this ship. I bet none of us would get off—right James?"

James looked up hastily, afraid that he was in trouble. Realizing what she said, he replied, "Yeah Mr. Daniel! Take us with you! We won't be any harm!"

"And you've got Jun and Irene here too." Ashka pointed out.

"I'm not sure what to do with them." Daniel muttered. "I'll probably drop them off at their planet..." He groaned. "But Lucas and Serena are gone as well...and so is Megan..."

"So we can come?"

That happened to be Gerard's voice. Behind him were Lexi and Paru, who had also been avidly listening to the conversation. They flooded into the room and turned into a chorus of pleads and reasons that they'd be an awesome addition to his team. Daniel tried to argue with all of their voices, but their numbers were against him. It was 5 against 1.

"Fine, fine, fine! You can come!" He said. Their cheers were washed out by the alert coming from the computer just as James input the coordinates. It was a call screen, but none of them recognized the numbers.

"How are we receiving calls? All the lines are dead!" James wondered. Daniel tapped the screen and answered.

Amber's face appeared on the screen. Behind her were two men in astroforce uniforms. She wore a similar uniform, and she looked pissed—as she always did.

"_Mr. Daniel, where ARE all of you? You left us in Lilycove! We can't even find Mr. Rodolfo!"_

"I'm sorry." He said, "I'm in Mossdeep with the others. Where are _you_? Who else is there?" He pointedly ignored the Rodolfo question. It would be better for everyone if he didn't answer.

"_Me and all the other survivors of the tsunami are underground in Lilycove—in the ruined city. The astroforce against Kai has come in to help, but they've only been able to help out a few at a time. Me, Imogen, Sherry, and Nicolas will be last. Damn those aliens!" _she screamed. The others winced. "_They're ruining my summer! Mr. Daniel, are you going to let them DO this?_"

"I've decided what I'm doing." Daniel said calmly. "I'm going to Marrion—we're all going—and we're going to speak to whoever is in charge over there. We'll stop it at the heart."

Amber rolled her eyes. "_Words are fine, but that isn't what's going to get Kai's ass out of here. If you need an army, I can GET you one."_

"I can't use a hodge-podge—"

"_They won't be hodge-podge, trust me._" Amber smirked. "_Get going. The longer we keep communications up, the easier they can find us."_

Daniel nodded, and they all waved good bye. "Thank you Amber. I don't know what we'd do without you." The sarcasm was absent from his tone.

Amber smiled and nodded. "_Godspeed, soldiers."_

* * *

><p>She was in a pristine and blank cell with many, many other people. Whenever someone new was beamed up, they came from a teleportation pad at the center of the cell. There were children, teens, adults, and elders here. The aliens took whoever they saw on the streets and beamed them up. The cell seemed to be in a basement of some type, because the aliens could see them from a platform above. It made them all seem like lowly rodents.<p>

Megan, naturally, took care of the children who were separated from their parents. Everyone was scared in a time like this, especially when their pokémon and devices were stripped from them. Even Megan's styler was taken, so now she was just an ordinary civilian like the rest. The people had yet to tell them what they would be doing with them.

"Her. Take out her. I wish to examine her." A voice from above said.

Megan felt herself being lifted by Psychic. The children cried for her not to go, and she tried to hold on to them as tight as she could, but their grip was ripped apart as Megan was sent flying upwards and out of the cell. She was sat in a chair in front of two aliens with their Mr. Mime. She couldn't move at all. The two people were dressed exactly the same—tight red two-piece uniforms—but they were of different genders.

"Who is she?" asked the male. He had scary, bulging muscles, but was surprisingly handsome.

The female with the clipboard moved aside the electronic files. "She is Megan Valacio, pokémon ranger. Look at her, she's so strong." The two aliens stared at her body appreciatively, but Megan thought of this "examination" as highly violating and creepy.

"What should we do with her?" asked the male.

"Let's see what she'll say. Mr. Mime, allow her to speak." Said the female.

Megan could feel her lips move. Her eyes narrowed. "You damn freaks separated me from my boyfri—"

The woman put up her hand and Megan was silenced, to her annoyance. "She's annoying. Maybe we use her for fetus production instead."

Megan's eyes widened. There was no way in hell she's carry any stranger's baby. The only baby she'd want was Daniel's.

"But she has muscles and experience in rangering. Perhaps she could tame the pokémon outside of our cities?" the male suggested.

"The pokémon outside of our walls tend to be taller than the walls we build." The female reminded. "But...she could come in handy. I'll list her for both."

_List me for none, freakin' bishes because once my hands are untied I'm strangling your foreign blue skinned ass—_

Megan's thoughts were thrown aside when she was literally _thrown off _the platform by Psychic. By some grace of the pokémon, though, she managed to land on the ground without hurting herself or others. She was quick to return to the children she had been with earlier.

"Miss lady, when are we going home?" asked one of the children.

Megan hugged her and sighed. "I don't know sweetie...soon I hope..."

* * *

><p><strong>Good evening! :D I knew I'd update on time! Or at least..hoped..<strong>

**Anyway, I really have nothing more to say about what is happening. We've got a few more chapters until the end :P**

**Thank you so much to the reviews last chapter! :D I love when I hear feedback. Critism is appreciated just as much. Thank you to **_BNVshark_**, **_Zokolov_**, **_KingOfStories01_**, **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, **_WolfehUmbreonWarrior_**, and **_Shadow of Eckhart_** for reviewing! :D You guys rock!**

**Anyway, I have another project due soon (I'm such a bad procrastinator..) so I will delaying next update around...March 24th-ish, maybe 30th if I can't get to it. I'm trying to update before I leave for Italy for Spring Break (I leave April 1st and come back the 8th o_o). Then I wont have access to a computer at all ._.**

**Thanks for reading! :P Feedback appreciated!**


	29. Marrion, Part 1 of 2

**Chapter Twenty-Eight - Marrion Part 1 of 2  
><strong>_Same as last chapter, around 10pm_

The underground in Lilycove consisted of a network of tunnels that at any time could flood with water. The walls were dirty, damp, and crawling with maggots and worms. The tunnels branched off into rooms that led into halls of towers that used to be inside the mountain. Certain parts hadn't flooded, but with the right amount of ammunition, it could happen.

Imogen and Sherry's feet plodded and splashed along the miniature river of water at the floor of the tunnels as they navigated along with what they learned was called a "lantern". Sherry resisted the urge to chat relentlessly or complain about the grossness factor of the tunnels for the sake of being quiet in case they were heard. Imogen continued to check back on her as they followed Amber's Ariados towards the surface route.

The internet was still off, as was all communication devices. They had no contact with the outside world, so they had no possible knowledge of what was happening to Hoenn, Sinnoh, or any of the other regions in Oceania as the invasion continued. All they knew was that Kai was at the capital and living it up grandly. The only information they were given was from what Amber was able to hack into it.

And the way Amber pulled herself together in a crisis like this, it was inspiring. The dangerously insane I-will-cut-you-if-I-feel-like-it girl was leading them, somehow, but not as a resistance. Amber had no intentions of fighting back; it was like fighting a match stick with a flamethrower. Until they had spacecrafts to fling around in, all they could do was hide. The objective was to survive without the Blumans finding them. They found a lot of old food in the underground rooms and it could last a while, but it wouldn't be long until those ran dry too. Oceania's military was trying to contact them as well, but Amber was having trouble trying to reach them in secret.

"Imi..." Sherry whispered in a faint, childish whine. Imogen turned her head, almost ready to shush her before she became loud.

"Yeah?" She stopped walking because Sherry was wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her military-issued jacket.

"I...Are you..." Sherry couldn't figure out the words she wanted to say. "Are you sure they'll fix it?"

"Who will fix what?"

"Daniel's group..." She said, wiping at her eyes again. "I'm worried they might get blown up...or something...Going to that planet..."

Imogen grimaced and reflected her glance onto the dugout wall. She missed them, all of them; James the most. She had never told him how she felt—although, even if he was down here with them, she wouldn't have told him either—bad timing, is all. Salvaging a relationship during worldwide crisis was selfish.

"You can only pray that they'll save us." Imogen shrugged, and gently took Sherry's arm to tug her along. Sherry's twisted frown was her only response to that. They continued trekking in silence behind Ariados.

Ariados led them uphill until they came upon stone pillar. They couldn't see around it with the lantern's small lighting radius. Ariados climbed up the pillar with its sticky limbs, and upon reaching the flat top, shot a sticky string of web at the floor where Imogen and Sherry were.

"You first." Imogen said as she gestured to the web. Sherry glanced at the thread-thin string and feverishly shook her head.

"Are you kidding? That's not strong enough to support my weight!" She said.

Imogen momentarily shushed her. A brief silence followed to be sure they were alone. Assured, Imogen took hold of the string and told her to watch her climb. The climb was around 50 feet—5 stories tall, so if there was a fall it wouldn't be pleasant. Imogen gripped at the web tightly—it was slightly sticky, so it wasn't that hard to get a grip—and she inched up, sometimes using the pillar for a foothold. Gravity was warring with her body, threatening to plummet her into the rock. Ariados helped, yanking the web backwards so Imogen would come up faster. She felt the top and hauled herself the rest of the way up, swinging her leg. With a refreshing sigh she turned and peered back down at Sherry.

"I don't want to climb." Sherry whined.

"I'm the one with the lamp." Imogen reminded. "Do you want to sit in the dark while I get the stuff?"

With a sigh Sherry replied no, then took hold of the web. With another thought in mind she began wrapping it around her waist, her thighs, her armpits and arms, and her legs. Now she was hanging in the air, but Ariados was struggling to keep her up. With several grunts on Imogen's part, Sherry was eventually lifted onto the pillar.

They started running. They knew where they were at now, they could see light peeking through the cracks of the walls—they waded through a waist-deep lake to get to the other side, where there was a bolted door. Imogen flung it aside and climbed up the ladder following it. Sherry held the lamp and waited.

Imogen shoved aside the tile in the ceiling and climbed into the room where the tile led. She did a quick recon—Amber was right. All of the pokéballs in the Pokémon Center that were meant to be sent home had not been sent at all, and those that had were stuck in the tubing. There was no one in the room, and since the lock had yet to be broken, she knew none of the Blumans had found them.

She shouldered off her book bag and started sweeping the waiting pokéballs into it. None of them had legible labels—just numbers—so she wasn't sure at all whose pokémon she was taking. She found her Zebstrika's pokéball and kissed it, then put in in her pocket. She had no doubt when it came to her own pokéball. It was like her heart left a signature on all of her valuables.

There was a clank from outside. She stood frozen still with her heart beating. Voices outside, she could understand them, and it made her rigid.

"When is he going let us put the wifi back up? I want to check my email." Said a male.

"Your mail isn't going to send through Marrion, dolt."

"Can't a guy be hopeful?"

The voices faded away as their shadows momentarily blocked out the light from the tiny window in the door. Imogen let out another breath and dropped the full bag to Sherry, who yelped when it landed on her face.

"Did you hear that?" The voices were returning.

"What is there to hear? We already scoped out the entire place. There are no more humans hiding." Reassured the other one.

"What about this room?"

They were right beside the door. And the light was shining right onto the spot where the tile was moved.

_Dammit. _Imogen shut her eyes in realization as she pressed herself deeper into the darkest parts of the room.

They left again, and were not returning anytime soon. Imogen quickly filled their second bag with more pokéballs and instant food pills before climbing back down the ladder and resetting the tile. Sherry glanced at the bags with a guilty frown.

"Should we be doing this?" She asked.

Imogen turned to her with a gravely expressionless face. "Yes. When our lives have become compressed into what we're doing now, _anything _is necessary."

* * *

><p>The pokéball transporter is beeping. Daniel suspiciously takes a gander at the list of numbers on the screen next to it. He realizes whose pokéballs they are and pressed the 'accept' button. Constantly a light flashed, and pokéballs lobbed one by one out of the tube and onto the floor. James was sitting at the controls and watched the sea of pokéballs grow.<p>

"Are those ours?" James asked as Daniel collected them and lined them up on a nearby surface.

"I think so." Daniel said. "The coordinates from where they were said were from Lilycove...but I don't see how..."

James picked through the pokéballs and picked up the strangely wrapped one. The wrapper was a clear film with black marks across it, like a barcode. "I know what this says." James said.

"You can read bar code?" Daniel asked, lifting an eyebrow. (not to be mistaken with barcode)

James nodded. "I took it as a 3rd language!" He put his hand up for silence so he could concentrate. Although it looked as though he were staring intensely at the pokéball to fry it with laser beams, he was really decoding it in his head. He read it out loud. "This is...this is Amber. Imi and Sher have...they have...oh, they stole these from the pokémon center. Hurry and leave." He stared at the film perplexedly and offered it to Daniel to decipher. Daniel shook his head. Barcodes would forever be a series of black lines to him.

"At least she only stole back ours." Daniel muttered, scanning all the pokéballs with his styler. At least, he hoped they were the only ones. He wasn't sure who else was hiding with Amber's clan. "James, did you put the coordinates in? We should start flying while everyone is asleep."

James whirled his chair to face the dashboard. "I did, but..."

"But what?"

He pointed at the screen that blocked the view of the windshield. There wasn't much to see—the tsunami had only graced Mossdeep, which was so high up and unreachable—and the Bluman ships that were patrolling still haven't detected them. Those that did just left them be, thinking they were an ally.

On the screen was a map. Like MapQuest, it showed points A and B in _very _tiny dots. Marrion was on the other side of the galactic spiral, at a tip. The position of Earth on the map was nowhere near.

"The journey would take 20 years, even if we went our fastest." James said. "And we'll run out of fuel too."

"But the Blumans got here faster than that." Daniel muttered. "How did they?"

The two thought about it for a minute. James wondered if the Blumans had a different kind of fuel or a turbo speed that could zip them across the cosmos, while Daniel tried to recall what he had found in the underwater lab. What was it that the reports had said? Lost to wormholes? _No, that couldn't possibly be the solution..._he thought, shaking his head.

"We could always ask Irene." James suggested with a half-enthusiastic shrug.

Daniel was stricken with a plan. "You're right!" He said, wagging his pointer finger. "Irene would know!"

"She's not going to cooperate. We locked her in a bathroom." James said.

Daniel picked up a pokéball. "You've got your Kadabra, right? We'll use it's psychic to hold her down."

"What if she has her Murkrow out?"

Daniel was already at the door. "I'll be ready. Call it out." He tossed the pokéball to James.

James scowled. "Pokémon are not called—oh, forget it." He muttered bitterly. "Shazam, out!" With a click, Kadabra emerged from a shot of light. It was told the plan and nodded in comprehension. They prepared themselves at the door.

Daniel knocked. "Irene, we need to talk to you."

"Not until you let me out!" Was her immediate response. Daniel and James swapped looks, nodded—the door was open—Irene stormed out, only to be caught dead by psychic. Her scoff was stuck in her throat as she was levitated into the control room in the same flighty position she was caught in. Her arms were allowed down at her side and her head was set free. "What the hell!" She shrieked.

"Irene, calm down." Daniel said calmly, patting the air with his palms. "We need information from you. Whether you comply or not determines how off the hook you'll be."

Her eyes didn't look convinced. "You think I'll believe that? I'm not giving up to the enemy!"

"We're not enemies." James said.

"_Friends _don't lock each other in the bathroom!" She retorted.

"That's only because you'd try to stop all of us and take control of the ship!" A female voice said from the hallway. Ashka stepped into the room with her hair out and dressed into one of the Bluman uniforms they had found in a supply closet. "God guys, we're only down the hall. I can still hear Irene's annoying voice."

"Hey!"

"Why haven't we left yet?" Ashka asked, ignoring Irene. James jerked his thumb at the dashboard.

"W-we can't." He stammered nervously. "The flight would take 20 years."

"Sound familiar?" Irene taunted. The three turned to her with confused glances. She smirked and flipped her hair off her shoulder with a quick head swish. "The S.S. Noah Ark 2." She reminded. Daniel was the first to understand with his eyes widening in recognition. "A ship full of humans, 20 years of flight to find the sustainable planet of Marrion. They crossed a wormhole and found it." Ashka as well as James's ears wanted to deny everything she said, but in the back of their minds they knew it was true.

Daniel finished what she was going to say. "Those million people," He said, "They were the ones who colonized Marrion. They are the original Blumans."

Irene nodded.

"How the hell is that going to help us?" Ashka spat, returning them to the topic that had scurried away. "You only said that to rub your race in our faces."

"She can do that enough just be being blue." Muttered James as he took a seat in exhaustion.

Daniel approached Irene so that they were only two steps apart. Irene looked at him as she normally would, not intimidated as he hoped she would be. "We need answers." He said. He gestured to the dashboard. "I know _you _know how to get around. You know how to get back to Marrion. Take us there."

Irene frowned and locked her two lips together. She stared around the room—at the spaceship controls she was expertly familiar with, at Ashka who looked bothered to be here, but had leadership obligations that kept her here, at James who looked like he was going to fall asleep any second with his head nodding off, and then back at Daniel, who still could not pull off a threatening expression.

"Would do I get out of it?" She replied. "I don't want the Blumans expelled off of Earth. If I help you, that's exactly what will happen."

"No it won't." Daniel said.

"It will!" She shrieked. How could he be so naïve that he didn't share her view? Oh, right, because he wasn't blue. He wouldn't understand. In a calmer voice she said, "I like it here on Earth. I want to _stay _here. I want to see the world! And I want to be able to see it in the form I'm in now!"

"Nobody is asking you to go back to your planet." He said reasonably.

She shook her head. "They will. All of you. We're a menace, right? You'll discriminate us because of how we look, and because what we did to return to your good graces..." She giggled bitterly. "We _decapitated_ your president. We shot your _beloved_ trainers." Her eyebrows knitted together and she forced the lump in her throat to be swallowed. "...Wa—why would you give us a—a second chance?"

James looked back at the map and collected his thoughts. "I wonder...if the S.S. Noah Ark 2 was caught in a wormhole and found Marrion...could we do the same? Maybe there's a wormhole that all the Blumans use to get here!"

"That's crazy." Ashka deadpanned, instantly shooting his idea down. "There are countless numbers of wormholes out there. The wrong turn would have us lost in space for the rest of our lives."

"He's right, actually." Irene muttered, staring at the ground. "We use wormholes." She said it in a light, humorous tone, so they were unsure if she was telling the truth or not.

"Is that true?" Daniel said, turning back to Irene. "We have to go through a wormhole?"

Irene caught onto his hope quickly and twisted it in her hands, shaping it to her advantage. A smirk felt its way on her lips. "Yes, we do!" She replied. "And I know the exact wormhole the others use. It's only a few hours out of Oort cloud with this ship. I can steer you there. Let me." Her eyes sparked with something like deceivery, or an enthusiasm to return home. Either way, Daniel was sure that she could lead them to Marrion.

"Maybe..." Daniel started. Ashka instantly began shaking her head. "What?"

"Don't trust her!" Ashka said. "She could lead us off into dead space!"

"Um, hello? Even if I did that, I'd be on the ship too, so _I'd _be in dead space too." Irene pointed out. "I'll lead us to Marrion, trust me!"

Daniel looked at James. James moved aside and Irene was released from psychic. She smiled genuinely for the first time and pleated her skirt.

"Better." She said.

"Don't get smug now." Daniel said. "None of us are getting any younger. Pull up a chair and take us to Marrion."

* * *

><p><strong>Irene POV<strong>

Those idiots.

Their trust is so easily bought. They know what I'm capable of, and what do they do? They put me in control of the ship. Only a loser would do that.

Well, they've made a great mistake.

It would've been that easy to contact a nearby ship and tell them that humans had taken this one. I would've, if Ashka hadn't been looking over my shoulder the entire time I was starting up the engine. She was hard to fool. Unlike the men that had already gone to bed in the cabins, she wasn't convinced that I could steer them to Marrion.

But I can. The question is—will I do it with _them_?

Ashka and I buckled up. I announced on the intercom for everyone to strap down. I didn't give a damn if Jun got kicked around in that cell, I wasn't going to let him out. He would catch onto my ruse just as quick as Ashka's suspicion. As the ship oriented its nose to the sky, I mentally counted down and checked the rocket fuel.

10...9...8...

7...6...

"The hell is that?" Ashka mutters behind me.

5...4...

"Looks like _our_ ship...only different..."

Pups. They were Pup ships.

I reached for the lever and thrust it down, even though the engine hadn't fully warmed up. I looked outside as I felt the floor start pushing upwards—the spaceship shot a beam at us—we started rocking, and I screamed and started activating all the turbo guns to get the hell out of here. My gut clenched as we started rising higher and higher in a violently vibrating ship, and I shut my eyes, waiting for the sound, the sound of air—

_PEW_

I finally let out a breath when air pressurized, and peeping an eye I saw that we were still in the clouds, but it was getting brighter and then suddenly darker. I looked to Ashka who was clasping her armrest with white knuckles and the other one holding her face as if it was sliding off. I'm used to this feeling but it's impossible to get used to.

"We're almost there!" I cried out, "Just another minute!"

"I f—feel...sick..." moaned someone at the door. I gasped and looked to see Gerard trying to clamber to us, but gravity was pulling everyone down as the ship flew up to gain enough velocity to shoot out of Earth's gravity—Gerard managed to crawl to Ashka's chair before hugging it for his life.

"Brace for impact!" I shouted.

"Impact of _what_!" exclaimed Ashka. "We're in the _sky_!"

I retorted, "Impact of the oz—" My voice was cut short when an abrupt push had all of us jerking forward. The dashboard beeped incessantly and the air vents started fuming again. I simultaneously did a check of all of our pressures before looking out the dashboard.

The hard part was over. We're in space.

We've left the Pups on Earth. Damn them.

"It is now safe to unbuckle." I said into the intercom. My voice hadn't found itself yet and I ended up talking in an incoherent, raspy way. "The flight to Marrion should take about 18 hours. Please keep out of the engine room and the green house room. Other than that I recommend visiting the observation deck or the arcade room. Breakfast will be served in five hours; space pancakes and stale Pecha berry juice. Thank you."

After my announcement, Ashka gave me a strange look.

"Ashka, come on. You must be tired." Gerard said, getting up. He started levitating, and in panic, grabbed Ashka's arm.

"Low gravity here. Careful." I reminded. He tried to reach his foot to the ground, but that only made him shift closer to the ceiling.

"I'm keeping an eye on Irene." Ashka protested. I could tell from the tired in her voice that it took a lot of her to stay here.

"Don't worry about me. We have to get out of the Oort cloud before I can mislead you anywhere." I joked. Her face alerted me that she didn't find it funny.

"I'll be back." Ashka muttered, unbuckling her seatbelt. It took her a minute to get used to low gravity. Eventually, she and Gerard were skipping down the hall and to their cabin rooms for a nap. I was disgusted by how close and comfortable they were together. I yawned. Man, I need sleep myself.

I entered the autopilot coordinates and watched our speed gage. We would be passing Mars in a few minutes. We'd pass Neptune in five hours. I sighed, folded my arms against a table, and let my head down to rest. I felt something soft wrap around my shoulders somewhere during that time. When I found the energy to pull my head up and look, I saw Mr. Daniel using the handholds in the wall to propel himself out of the control room. He shut off the light and left me to the glowing and flashing controls.

It was probably the only time I could fall asleep so quickly amidst spaceship equipment.

* * *

><p><strong>Normal POV<strong>

Irene fell asleep for three hours before waking up with a new energy buzzing through her. It could be from her schemes, or from intangible sugar, or just from the crazy random spur of inspiration that has her wanting to explore around the ship. After doing another routinely check of the air pressure, air tanks, fuel tanks, and everything else that could classify her actions as OCD tendencies, Irene cast off her blanket and propelled herself down the decks.

She neared the bottom level and was in the stairwell. She could hear voices—Ashka and Gerard. She didn't know why, but this was where she wanted to go. Something in her dreams told her that she should go here. Something important.

Only, when she looked out onto the observatory, she saw Gerard's arms around Ashka and his head on her shoulder. Both were looking out at space. Comfortable. Together? Irene felt like she was intruding. She backed up the stairs and propelled herself to the kitchen. By the time she had reached it a bitter scowl had taken its place upon her face.

_So that's how it is, huh? _She thought, pulling open the fridge. She took out a sustenance pack and closed door. Low gravity ended up pushing her back into the hallway and the door closed automatically. Irene grumbled to herself as she trudged back into the control room.

Once back at the controls, she hammered down her fingers and changed the coordinates. She aimed for the strange formation in space a few hours away and sped them up. It wasn't really the Gerard thing that had her so upset—this was her plan all along—but seeing Gerard like that had sparked her plans a little early. She sat back and watched their ship move to the formation on the GPS.

_Have fun in a decaying orbit, bastards._

* * *

><p>"I'm getting closer to the Capital."<p>

"_Good. Are you still invisible?_"

"As far as I can tell. I can't see myself in buildings."

"_Take it easy. Land on a building near the capital and I'll lead you from there._"

Sigh. "Alright, Lucas." Serena positioned her wings to glide downwards to a rooftop. She was careful with her feet, aware that every building in this city had pressure sensors and cameras for security. Taxi hovercrafts were part of the variety of the solely communist-controlled region and high beam headlights sometimes casted her shadow against a wall. She had to duck as if she was being spotted by helicopter spotlights. There were hundreds of wires strapped across her skin and centered at her back that made her invisible. If she made the wrong movement, she could rip a fragile wire that would disrupt the whole structure and become visible.

Mr. Bay's assignment had made her feel as if she had been recruited by some sort of FBI agency. She knew that her assignment was only for selfish reasons. If Mr. Bay's hybrid project, which included her, proved to be for the greater good of humanity, the government would supply more funding and then there would be more hybrids...considering Serena was the last one.

That she knew of.

She took a deep breath and pulled back her hair as the summer mist clung to her neck. It was night but with all the lights in the sky, it was easily mistaken as rush hour in the morning. Spacecrafts, hovercrafts, spaceships, hover scooters, and all the like added to the confusion of the skies. It was much easier to fly in Hoenn when they had more limits to city flying.

"I'm on the building." She whispered, taking a seat on the edge. Her wings brushed the floor of the roof. She could hear Lucas typing on the other end.

"_Hold on, I'm trying to figure out Mr. Bay's instructions..." _muttered Lucas in a contemplative way. It was like he was really concentrating on this. "_Hmm. How are you at creating utter destruction?_"

"Pretty good, actually. I don't mean to brag, but I settled a volcano with an ice beam."

"_The idea is destruction, not CONSTRUCTION." _

"I wasn't building a volcano."

"_We need to be careful. Kai can tap into our communication line at any time. He can do that even easier with you closer to the capital."_

"I know what to do." Serena said. "I'll turn off the Bluetooth while I'm...smashing stuff. I don't want to have you hear me grunt anyway."

"_Are they sexy grunts?_" She imagined him smirking right about now to accompany that idiotic slur. She clicked him off and stood on the edge of the building. With an aimed jump, Serena arced into the air. She absorbed the ignorant sounds of the city—the screaming, the honking, the telephone ringing and a mother yelling—she absorbed their rage, clenched in her heart, and angered herself. It fueled her powers, fueled her veins. She made several circles around the capital.

It could be easy, striking the capital. It was a three-story building, rectangular shaped with grand old windows and a thin communications pole sticking out from the center. The landscape around the building was crawling with Bluman guards and robotic guards. All she had to do was crack the windows. Scare some people. Wreak havoc.

_I'm gonna need to confess to this to a priest later. _she thought to herself after the fourth round.

And then suddenly, the building's windows—they were frosting, bending, cracking—a whole row of square windows shattered, and then the level below that, and the next level after that. White, snowy wind gusted into the building, opening doors and scattering papers, hitting unsuspecting people.

Kai was in the office. He could hear the high pitched screech of ferociously arctic winds from down the hall but he had the door to the hall locked and barricaded. The men around him were talking into their transceivers to communicate with the rest of the subordinates, but everyone was either too cold or too frozen.

A sound like a dragon releasing its fires echoed through the vents. Kai looked out the window, trying to figure out what was causing such strange things. The building gave an alarming jolt that shook everything to the left—portraits fell off walls, men fell of their feet, and a holographic plant fell over and spilled its soil.

"Mr. Kai sir, we need to get you to a safe place." Said one of the men, rushing to Kai's fallen side.

Kai shook his head and smirked. He got up from the ground. "No. Let's see how this game is played." He looked out the window again. He sensed something out there, but he couldn't see it. "Get C squad and surround the building. Now!"

As the orders were given another rush of cold air came through the vents.

_CLINK! _A thin thread of glass had cracked in the wide windowpane behind the office desk. Kai stared at it uncertainly. Something outside shifted. He saw something slip.

Serena became completely visible as she lunged straight into the window with her mouth unattractively wide open—but that was completely irrelevant, because a purple orb shot straight out from her throat and crashed into the window. The shards narrowly missed Kai, who had backed into the back wall by then, covering his face with his arms.

Serena analyzed the room as the sound of laser beams firing up and clicks rubbed her ears. Her eyes locked on Kai.

The stranger's deadly looking eyes locked on him. She was hideous. Half of her face was covered by a greyish leather skin and her arms were grey as well. Rocky, mechanical looking wings jutted from her back and swayed in the cold breeze picking up under her feet. The stranger was challenging him.

"Don't just stand there, get her!" Kai yelled.

The stranger smirked and forced forward her palm. A bright blue flash knocked the sound out of his and his men's ears.

* * *

><p>"Damn, she decimated that building." Lucas muttered. He sat in a reclined position, watching the various displays that monitored Serena's movements, body temperature, motives, health, etcetera. Although her Bluetooth was off, he could still see everything she did from the exoskeletal wire suit that she wore over her clothes to make her invisible. A piece had unraveled and now she was visible.<p>

Bored at the moment, Lucas tried logging into his Facebook. The internet still wasn't working correctly, which made him very upset. He felt cut off from everyone. He was stuck in a lab while everyone else was who knows where!

Someone new walked in apart from the other scientists. It was easy to see she didn't belong here with her dark, layered long hair and female stature. Wait—was that _Serena_? That would explain the leathery skin, but it was black, not grey—

"How the hell did you get back so fast—" Lucas started, quickly approaching her from behind—

The female span around and reached her hand out to snap the front of his shirt. At once he realized it wasn't Serena. Although she looked very similar, her eyes were a dark shade of orange and her face exhibited a stronger, crueler, and apathetic stare.

"Hey, hey—" he said, trying to get out of her grip. The girl narrowed her eyes even further and twisted his shirt, pulling him closer to face her angrily flared nostrils. She blew an icy wind in his face that blurred his vision. With a grunt of annoyance, the girl slammed him into the hard floor.

Lucas coughed, ignoring the immense bruise now forming in his ribs.

"Strong, isn't she?" said a familiar voice from behind as the darker Serena took several threatening steps forward. "Sarah, at ease."

Mr. Bay returned from other parts of the facility and came to Sarah's side. Sarah put her hands to her side and stood completely still. Lucas stared at this ludicrously.

"What the hell?" He said. "She could've killed me!"

"Killing is her primary objective." Said Mr. Bay with a sick grin. "She's Serena's twin, only completely revamped. Whilst Serena was raised as a normal...hybrid baby with normal parents, Sarah here was removed of all her emotions so that the only thing that makes her remotely satisfied is a bloody death. She's everything Serena is not—sturdy, ruthless, merciless, and hasn't shed a tear since birth."

"Serena has a hot twin?" Lucas extracted the only interesting thing out of that speech.

Mr. Bay sighed at his idiocy. "When Serena's zygote was picked for Kyurem genes, she was attached to the hip by another cell. We gave both of them the genes and raised them separately. Genetically, yes, they are twins." He looked to Sarah. "Sarah is 95 percent nanobot controlled. That is probably the only difference."

"Does she know?" Lucas asked.

"Serena will never know." Mr. Bay gave him a look. "_Correct_?"

Lucas's expression withered. If he didn't comply, Mr. Bay would probably send Sarah after him. "Yes sir." He mumbled. "So...she's got the same powers as Serena?"

"Almost." Mr. Bay replied. "We had two strains of Kyurem when the two were born. Serena was given the one of white..."

"So Sarah has black." Lucas finished.

Mr. Bay smirked. "I see you're not as stupid as your hairdo suggests."

Sarah backed away from them. Her black, rocky wings erupted from her back. She took a running start and leapt into the air. She flew out of a porthole in the ceiling.

"Where's she going?" Lucas asked worriedly. Was Sarah going to Holon too to stop Kai?

"In space." Mr. Bay said casually. "We need someone to get rid of all those blasted ships up close, after all."

* * *

><p><em>15 minutes, <em>thought Irene, striding through the low gravity halls with minor difficulty, _15 minutes and the ship falls in. _

She wanted them gone. All of them. James, the frustratingly intelligent know-it-all, Lexi, that beautifully bubbly optimistic, Mr. Daniel, mister _let's try and save the world_, Paru and his utter uselessness unless he's in front of a TV screen, Ashka and her damn intuition, and she would not forget Jun and his damn happy-go-lucky attitude, and then just when things get tough does he finally decide to man up. Irene's had it with all of them.

She wasn't regretting sending them to their doom either.

She continued pulling herself down the corridor. She'd have to hurry. If anyone saw her, they would stop her and ask questions. No one needs to know that she's heading to the garage across from the observatory deck. No one needs to know that she's going to steal a mini-shuttle and hightail it back to Earth before the ship falls into orbit.

But when she descended the stairwell to the bottom deck, she ended up intercepting Gerard in the corridor that separated the observatory deck from the garage. It seemed like this was the deciding moment to if she would leave or not. But...she couldn't just leave Gerard...

_Oh no, he's going to start a conversation. _Thought Irene as Gerard used the railings to walk towards her.

"Hey." He said, his grin warm and inviting.

"Hi..." She trailed off, directing her glance downwards at the floor.

"Are you checking out the observatory deck?" He asked, pointing from where he came. It seemed obvious to him because he didn't know what else was on this floor. "The view is amazing. It looks way better than from the control room."

"It does." She nodded absently.

"I also wanted to thank you..." He continued. Her ears perked in surprise and she looked up fast enough to catch his sheepish look.

"What do you mean?" She said carefully. Why would anyone want to thank her? For all the things she did, she wouldn't think anyone would be graceful.

"For letting us use your ship," He said, even though they both knew she was forced. "You're the only one of us who knows how to navigate in space. Without you, we'd be toast." The compliments made her blush pink.

"It was n—nothing..." she giggled nervously. Gerard wrapped his arms around her in a grateful hug. Irene stood stiff, disbelieving that _he _was actually touching her. Her affectionate memories of why she had a crush on him rose again, and she tingled even after he released her.

"How long until we reach your planet?" He asks. His smile was soft and genuine; a startling contrast to how he reacted the first time he learned of her extremely foreign origins.

_What do I tell him? _Irene wondered. She didn't want to lie to a handsome face that had finally decided to put trust in her. "Soon." She said abruptly. She turned on her heel. "I need to check something!"

Now it was a matter of life or death. In that short time of that conversation she knew that she didn't want Gerard to face this kind of end. He trusted her, and she couldn't live with herself, knowing he hated her for something she could control. She scrambled and knocked into walls as she ran and flew for the control room.

When she arrived, she saw the waves of the orbit pumping off the large windshield. In a panic she pushed herself from the door and caught the seat, then sat and feverishly typed commands into the keyboard.

They inched backwards a little, but it was like a game of tug-o-war. For every inch they pulled backwards, they were wrenched forward twice as hard. The pressure cells beeped in alarm. Too much stress, the ship wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I can't blow this!" She shrieked, running a hand through her hair.

"Irene, what's going on?" James innocently stuck his head in the doorway, uncertain of what was happening.

"Shut up James, we're in trouble!" Irene yelled. "We're falling into a decaying orbit! ...Somehow!"

"Focus the turbines on the front of the ship and use full throttle." He said, his tone powerfully assuring.

"We won't have enough fuel to go the rest of the way!"

"Worry about that later! Get us out of here!"

Irene looked back at the doorway, but James had already fled down the corridor to tell everyone what was happening. Nervous sweat beaded on the back of her neck and she changed the commands to what James said—turbines in front, full throttle. The whole ship was shaking and waning, and it felt like the metal was stripping itself sheet by sheet.

_What the frak? Why am I putting all the stress on the front turbines? We don't even HAVE front turbines! UGH THAT IDIOT! _She clenched her teeth and undid her previous commands. Taking the reins of the steering stick at the center of the dashboard, she used all her might to push it down—the nose of the ship swooped up, and gravity pulled everything down—Irene remembered to buckle her seatbelt just then—then she pushed the stick forward, typed in the commands for full throttle—

The ship pulled, puttering forward, screeching backwards—then finally, like cut elastic, they snapped out of orbit and were sailing forward through space again. In space, there was no such thing as direction—so the second that they were free, Irene re-coordinated them to the wormhole. She reset them to normal speed.

James tumbled into the room. Lifting his head, he said warily, "Are we...good? Out?"

Irene span her chair around to face the door and smiled. "Yes, we are. We'll be out of the Oort cloud in an hour. We should reach the wormhole in 5."

"Do we have enough...fuel?"

Irene turned around and checked. Her reply was faint, but he still heard it. "...No."

With that, James relinquished his face to the floor to rest.

* * *

><p>Serena had frozen every bullet they shot at her, had intercepted every laser with an ice beam of her own, but with every loud firing sound a tear fell from her eye. By the time she had frozen Kai and flew him out of the building, she was in a river of tears. She didn't have any reason to cry other than the fact that her emotions were welling up in her, and the only way to release them were from her tear ducts.<p>

Flying with two bodies put a strain on her. Her back ached as her wings attempted to support both of their weight. She wasn't invisible any either, so if anyone tried to shoot her now she would've been done. She was the most vulnerable when she was flying.

"Bluetooth, on." Her voice command brought the Bluetooth back to life. She could hear Lucas's rustling. "Lucas, what do I do now? I have Kai!"

"_Fly him back here to Mossdeep."_

"I can't! He's too heavy!" She said, struggling even then. She urged her wings to flap harder, but they couldn't get any higher than a hundred feet. They passed buildings until they were at the coastline. Serena felt her body give out and they started declining into the water. Serena slid into the sand and dropped Kai. Both of them flopped over until the momentum passed. Serena breathed heavy, trying to feel her wings move, but they were throbbing in pain.

"_We'll send someone over,_" Lucas said, "_Hang tight._"

"Hurry! They'll be looking for him!" She pleaded. The Bluetooth was cut off from Lucas's side. She hurried to pick up Kai. There was constant traffic coming from above. If she didn't hurry, they would find her. _They _could be anyone.

He was too heavy to carry now that she wasn't flying. She took his arms and tugged him behind the tall rocky wall that served as a steep hill. She checked him to be sure he was okay. Sometimes when she froze things, she froze _everything_. When she froze Megan, she used a light skin frost and then used the moisture in the air to create a thick barrier of ice around her body except for two holes for the nostrils. She tried to do the exact thing to Kai, only she had to freeze him in a shorter time under dire consequences.

But he was fine, and he could still move his eyebrows. They were pointed downwards angrily.

"They'll still be able to find us." Serena muttered, scanning the sky. She searched around the area for something more conspicuous. She was thinking a cave, but there wasn't anything nearby that could pass as one. Sitting out in the open at night wasn't strategic either. But it was all she could do.

She pressed her back against the rock. Her wings were folded now and out of harm's way.

She didn't like how things had turned out. When she signed up for the Summer Trek a few months ago, she wasn't expecting all this to unravel. She expected friendships, growing, maybe a little romance...and she did get that, sure, but it was all in the past now. She had no idea where her friends were, or if her family was okay under the watchful eyes of the Blumans.

But now that Kai was here, who was going to call all the shots? When was the spaceforce going to come in and start fighting back?

_I don't want to be in the middle of all this..._she thought, her lip trembling. _And here I go, crying like a big fat baby-unit...if only I was stronger—less afraid, less emotional, less like a coward. Then I'd be fit for the job they gave me._

* * *

><p>"...Is that it?"<p>

"Yes. That is Marrion."

Lexi gave out such a loud squeal that almost everyone in the cabin flinched.

Time wasn't applicable since they were in space but if they calculated it since they left Earth last night, it would be around 4 or 5 in the afternoon of the next day. The 18 hour flight had been dreary to most of the passengers—Lexi and Paru spent most of their time watching the movies that had been produced by Bluman actors and actresses. James was either with them or holed up in his room reading the hardcover (_hardcover_!) books they stored in the library here. Ashka and Gerard spent time watching space from the observatory deck or keeping an eye on Irene and Jun. Jun was dying from the boredom of sitting in a cell all day and at several times had to use the bathroom. They gave him a bucket.

Daniel took the time to train. The ship wasn't that big, but there was a pokémon battlefield in the middle deck at the back. He used that space to train Pita, although low gravity had made it a stomach curdling experience. He even trained himself, strengthening his endurance and capturing technique. The teens weren't reluctant to volunteer their pokémon. They were inspired to see a fire in him. That would help them, they were sure.

Marrion from this distance looked like a harlequin green planet. They've had to go slower since the incident last night when they lost so much fuel. Pokémon dung had only supplied so much fuel when they were looking for other resources. Through rationing they had managed to reach the planet, but it would be a one-way ticket. If they wanted to leave the planet, they would have to refuel.

"We're about to re-orbit." Irene said, buckling her seat. "Everyone buckle down!" The planet was twice as big as Earth, and they were furthering faster in—everyone reached for their buckles on the seats and the clicks snapped one after the other—now they knew why, gravity was pulling them in!

The cabin was silent as they entered the atmosphere—air whistled through their ears, like the sound of an airplane plummeting—pressure was pulling at their seatbelts, and no ones' stomach could settle—Irene struggled against the pull of the descend and pushed the airbrakes.

Everyone jerked back. Pressure reoriented. Sighs filtered around the room.

"Flying sucks." Lexi groaned, rubbing her stomach.

"You know, I think it would've been smart to give Jun a seatbelt...considering he's sitting next to his bucket of piss." Paru said. A few considered this and James shivered in disgust.

"Where's Krude?" Daniel asked. They were still high in the clouds, apparently, because all they could see was blinding white, over fluffed clouds.

"There's two sides of Marrion," Irene said, her back to them, "Krude on the right, and the evil Putuptupians on the left."

"To the right then!" James said, pointing his finger into the sky. Ashka backed up what he said with a nod.

Irene smirked. "Sure thing James." She navigated through the clouds and aimed them towards the right. The land was green and yellow and almost all cultivated from this precarious bird's eye view. The descent was calm and easy when the ship finally placed its legs into steady dirt. "You all may now leave the cabin."

James was the first to snap aside the seatbelt and run towards the door. Gerard "ahem"ed, and James smiled sheepishly and allowed ladies first. They only had to walk straight ahead to get to the exiting deck. Ashka gave Lexi the liberty of pressing the unlock button for the door.

The door set aside, opening a view of a beautifully lit, green covered path. The sun was shining down on all of them warmly, eighty degree weather at most. There were bright colored flowers that they'd never seen before—some spiked, curved, upturned or budded. The pokémon they saw were of a variety of shapes and sizes and looked like morphed versions of pokémon they were familiar with. The road was paved with cobblestones a mile out.

"Krude is gorgeous!" Lexi cooed, walking down the steps with Ashka and Paru behind her. Gerard and James came next.

"Aren't you coming?" Irene asked at the top of the steps to Daniel, who still stood at the door.

"I have to deal with Jun first." Daniel said. "Make sure everyone gets around safely, alright?"

"I will." Irene nodded.

"Is it okay that they're not blue?"

"People wear makeup all the time to emulate humans." She replied, giggling. He nodded and returned back inside. The others waited at the path for Irene to come. She grinned. Although being the shortest, it was clear that Ashka had transferred the pants to her. "Go that way. You'll find yourself in the city in ten minutes." Irene pointed. They started walking but she didn't follow.

"You're not coming?" Ashka asked.

Irene shook her head. "I'm staying with Mr. Daniel to handle Jun."

The others accepted it and started on the path. Irene watched them leave until they turned the corner and were out of sight. She smirked and turned around. She passed the ship. She kept on walking. After the ship was out of sight, she broke into a run. She needed a lot of distance away from the ship, that way no one would find her. She pulled a device out of her pocket and dialed. She held it close to her mouth like a walky.

"This is Earth probe B-002; I need a pick up straight away! My ship has crashed into Putuptupian territory! Please assist!"

* * *

><p><em>Complete failure...<em>

Serena's eyes started to tug themselves open. Her neck ached from the position she slept and she squinted when the next thing she looked at was the sky and the sun burning in it. She patted the space beside her.

What the hell.

She patted it again. Her brain was catching up with her and she turned to the spot where frozen Kai should've been.

_Gone_.

"No, no no no!" Serena looked around, confused and angry and frustrated, but mostly dejected that she had _lost _her captive. And where was that ship? She turned her Bluetooth on. The messages came first, and they were all from Lucas. They couldn't find her. When she was asleep, her nanobots fell asleep. They had to leave Holon because the Blumans were protecting the city.

She started running. Her wings sprung from her back, and with a leap, she was in the air and flying around again. She couldn't believe she lost Kai. He must've been back at the Capital now.

No—a different place. Somewhere safe, where they knew she'd never find him.

Or out in the open. In that spacecraft above her head.

She screamed and zipped out of the way as a tractor beam tried to shoot her. She spiraled and looped and soared but she couldn't get any faster, and every attack she tried had no effect.

The tractor beam caught her. She took the moisture around her and covered herself in ice. She found herself in a big tube. Kai glared at her from the other side, along with his entourage of burly backup.

"Who sent you?" He yelled.

She couldn't reply. She was frozen.

"Drop her in a volcano." He ordered, walking away with a livid scowl.

* * *

><p><strong>BONJOURNO!<strong>

**Hello those who are still sticking around! :D We have reached our final arc. Thank god. I'm honestly ready to finish this story...This actually wasn't the end of the chapter; my plan was too lengthy so I had to cut the chapter into two. **

**I'd like to GREATLY thank **_AshKetchumDarkSide_** and **_Zokolov_** for being the only reviewers last chapter! :D I don't know what happened to everyone one else, it kind of worried me...is everyone bored with the story? T.T its okay guys, we're ending soon...**

**As I said last chapter, I'm going to Italy this week for Spring Break! :3 Ah, I'm so excited! I'm leaving Sunday afternoon! :D I'll post a few pictures on my profile for anyone interested, I'm not that scared about showing my face anymore...I am who I am, no changing that :3 Next update...April 27th? I know, that's a month away...but I won't be back in America until April 9th, so...**

**Thanks for reading! :3**


	30. Marrion, Part 2 of 2

**Chapter 29 - Marrion, Part 2 of 2  
><strong>_Day ?; Marrion Time: 08:30 AM_

"Let's split."

The first suggestion to come from the mouth of the travelers and Lexi had to come up with the most hazardous one, especially in this situation. They were on a different planet with different flora and fauna and _she_ wanted to divide the five?

Ashka looked at her crazily. "Are you serious? Remember when we split up _last_ time?"

Lexi blinked. "There was a last time?"

Gerard tapped Ashka's shoulder and whispered. "I don't think she was there when we were traveling to Fortree city solo."

"Oh yeah..." Ashka muttered, snapping her fingers unsuccessfully so that they were just rubbing together now, "I wonder where she went anyway."

"I just want to check out the flowers and scenery." Lexi interrupted. It didn't seem like the two besties would be ending their conversation soon. "I'll take Paru, you take James."

"Wait, why do I have to go with _them_?" James whined.

"What's wrong with _us_?" Ashka countered with a scowl. James shrieked and mumbled 'nothing'.

"It's fine with me." Gerard shrugged. He turned to Paru. "Cool with you?" Paru nodded lazily. He just wanted to sit on a rock, anyway. The three continued down the path to that went straight downhill while Lexi pulled Paru down the left path, through a short forest and now at a lavender-tinted body of water.

Lexi gasped at how amazing Marrion nature looked. While Paru took a seat on a flat stone, she skipped among the flowers and nettles and vampire roses. He watched her with a crooked grin. She could be such a child. And then at the same time, to him, she was the most beautiful dancing spirit.

"Eww...what the hell is _that _ugly thing?" he muttered once he took a glance at the water. In the shallow ends an animal was swimming towards the edge. It looked like a mix of a Volbeat and Vanillite—white bug body, blue stripes on its abdomen, brighter blue collar that served as a floatation device, with a white updo on its head like soft-served ice cream, and crystallized blue dragonfly wings. In a way, it was cool looking, but its eyes did not focus together, so while one pupil focused left, the other looked in another direction.

Paru kicked his foot at it, splashing a little water to get it to go away.

"Go, go ugly...bug, creature thing." He prodded.

The bug blinked both its eyes very slowly, then took a big breath—and began choking on its breath, which scared Paru even more because he didn't want this _thing _to die in front of him—and then it coughed up a block of ice that sank to the bottom of the lake. With a satisfied, childish smile the abnormal looking pokémon turned around and swam away.

Lexi must've encountered one too, because she gave a blood curdling scream that scattered birds (or what passed as small winged things) from the trees. Paru shot up from his seat and ran deeper into the woodlands where Lexi had lost herself. He only had to turn past three rosey trunked trees when he saw her cowering over another one of these abnormal looking beasts—

It looked like a cross between a Hippopotas and a Rhyhorn, probably nothing more than a yardstick tall since it stood on all four legs. It had a large hippo-like nose in the front with two horns protruding on both sides, and its eyes were on the top of its head and focused on Lexi's strange appearance, considering the blue it was used to. The animal's hide went from leathery, to rocky scales, to leather, to scales again, so it looked like it wore a dress of grey scales. It was entirely grey, with maybe a tint of blue to its color.

The "thing" came closer.

"_AHH_!" Lexi's screamed again, both her knees jumping up, "What the _frakk _is this thing!" She saw Paru next to her and hid behind him, and grasped her arms around him so tightly that he was constricted to keeping his arms to the side. He honestly would've liked the feeling if it weren't for the fact that she was limiting his oxygen supply.

"I think—a—pokémon." Paru choked out, reaching for her arms to pry them. She squeezed even tighter when _it_ opened its mouth to show its flat, herbivore molars.

"Make it go away!"

"Can't—stuck."

"I don't want to use my pokémon!" She replied. "Go away!" She said to the pokémon, shooing it with the bouquet of plucked blue and white speckled geraniums. This only made it come closer and Lexi jumped onto Paru's back, resulting in having him carry her.

"Rip!" said the pokémon, nodding its head at her bouquet.

"I think it wants those things in your hands." Paru said.

Lexi squished the stems of the flowers in her fists. "Fine! Take it, and get out of here defective thing!" She threw it over her head but it didn't go as far—maybe a few feet from the pokémon, but it was pleased and caught the plants in its mouth, then ran past Paru's legs and deeper into the woodlands.

"...Did you just call it defective?"

She scowled. "I don't even _know_ what the hell to call that thing."

"If I were Adam, I'd call it Rippopotamus." He shrugged. She laughed at his attempt at a joke and stopped clinging him, then dusted off her hands where the blue residue from the flowers came. It wouldn't come off. She and Paru started back for the lake.

_Wait, when did she get that blue dust on her back? _Paru wondered when he looked at the skin not covered by her tank top. _Wait...IS that dust?_

* * *

><p>"We were <em>just<em> walking. Where did James go?" Gerard noticed minutes after they separated from the blondes. Ashka shrugged apathetically.

"Should we really care?" She said.

"We're on a foreign planet, so, uh, yeah." He deadpanned, stopping in the middle of the cobblestone road.

"He's a smart kid. He'll survive." She muttered, taking more steps forward. She could see strange looking hovels carved into the mountain side from where she was. It was probably only a half mile away. Gerard was hesitant to meet any Bluman residents, but Ashka was already walking and it was too late to stop her.

"This is strange," Ashka muttered, "Didn't Irene say Krude was..._modern_? Where are the asphalt roads? The uranium lamps? The outlets in the ground to charge items? All I see is..." She looked at the buildings up close. They were two stories high and parallel to each other on the narrow road. "I'm not sure what to call this, I've seen it in a history book once..."

Gerard backed up a few steps to see the entire landscape better. The horizon line was far to see, with the mountain in the way. Wait, it wasn't a mountain—he could see rooftops a little below—so they were on a hill perhaps, and the town was deeper in a crater—and fear began to rise in him when he realized where he could _possibly be_, if spaceships didn't hover overhead and everything was _retrograde_—that meant that the place that Ashka was standing, between those two houses...those weren't houses.

Those were watch towers.

Which would explain why there was a carriage riding up to them from the valley.

Before either could make a move, Ashka was snatched into the carriage, and the strange looking horses ran at Gerard, whipped from the rider—and the wooden wheel coughed to the side, and he found a heavily gloved hand forcefully pull him into the carriage, which was more compact than it looked from the outside, and awkward too with the two people already inside.

A dignified looking man with dark blue skin peered at the two teens with disgust through his one monocle. "あなたはどこから来た?" He said in a strange accent and language.

Ashka turned her head to the side. "_What_?"

"I think he speaks Japanese." Muttered Gerard from across her. Everyone's seat jumped up when they passed a pothole in the ground.

"Who still speaks _that_?" She hissed with confusion.

The man mumbled and began speaking with his accomplice beside Ashka. Ashka glanced between the two.

"Excuse me, we didn't do anything wrong, why are we—"

"SHHH." Snapped the man beside her.

"_Oh_, I understood _that_." She muttered. Gerard tapped her shoulder and pointed out their small, curtain covered windows. She moved aside the soft fabric and peered outside.

They must've been riding through the center of town. The carriage was moving pretty fast so it was hard to look at anything for more than two seconds, but they saw the ancient, marble and wooden roman architecture and the lack of lightbulbs. The people were various shades of blue and wore long dresses or tunics and free-flowing pants, and they were curious to peer inside the carriage as well to see who was in it. By the way they were hiding their offspring's eyes, it became clear that they were in a prisoner's carriage.

"I don't think we're in Krude..." Ashka said.

"_Krude_!" said the man with the monocle. He looked highly offended and looked at the two with hatred. Neither could jump out of the carriage either, with how fast they were going. A sharp turn had all of them leaning to the right. Now they were traveling up a hill.

"Woah..." Gerard's head was trying to fit out the small space of the window to give his eyes the best view. "Look Ashka, a castle..."

It was a mile away, six stories high with high arches encircling the top layers and four balcony towers—one on each end—with two miniature ones protruding from the rooftop. It was the color of peach adobe with reefs and flowers hugging the tall brown columns surrounding the bottom level, and had a draw bridge and a moat on its outside. It was a castle, definitely—tall, commanding, with such vast acreage that it was hard to tell how many rooms it could hold.

Ashka pulled her head away from the window and face palmed.

"_Frakk_, Irene tricked us. We're not in Krude...we're in the kingdom of Putuptup."

_Ba-rump ba-rump ba-rump_, the wide wooden carriage wheels rolled across the drawbridge, entering through a high arch and into an outer square of the within the castle. Ashka and Gerard were forced out of the carriage, and when the door was opened, blue men in crusty silver armor took their arms and forced them through the marvelously decorated halls. Of course, they couldn't enjoy the pieces of art, because they kept getting forced forward. The metal armor creaked when the soldiers moved, but no one said anything to offend them. Ashka wanted to reach for a pokéball and liberate herself, but Gerard shot her a look to not.

The came upon enormous doors with gold symbols all throughout the design. The pokéball-designed knockers were at least seven feet high, and the soldiers had to use a pole to knock them. After waiting a few seconds, the doors opened.

The room inside included wide, tall arched glassless windows with pale curtains hanging from them. Two people sat on thrones at the end of the room above a set of steps on a stage—the king and the queen, both in their typical garb and jewels. Ashka and Gerard had never seen so much bling on one person. In between the two was a pokémon lazing around—it looked like a cross between a Misdreavus and an Ivysaur.

"Where the bloody hell did you get these _urchins_!" yelled the man in a powerfully frightening voice as the two were brought forward. "And why are they..._pale_?"

"I'm more of a bronze actually." Gerard muttered. Ashka elbowed him to stay quiet.

"At least he speaks English." She replied in the same tone.

"No whispering." Said one of the soldiers on the left, wielding a pointy bladed staff.

"I found these urchins outside of our town gates, making a mockery of our civilization with their..._NESS_!" said the man with the monocle from before. Ashka glared at him. So he could speak English, and the entire time they were riding here, he didn't bother to explain _anything_.

"'_Ness_'?" repeated Gerard for clarification.

Monocle man nodded and his nostrils flared up. "Yes! Your _ness_! You must be citizens from across the pond, correct? That is why you mock us with your paleness?"

"We're not from Krude, if that's what you mean." Ashka retorted.

"Blasphemy! There's nowhere else you can come from!" said the king. "Tell us where you originate from!"

"Should we tell them?" muttered Gerard, turning helplessly to Ashka. She was the more stable one in this kind of situation. And she was, because she stood straight and fearless, which inspired him to be the same. Or at least, try to.

"They should already know, when they have troops on our own planet." She muttered back.

"They sound totally clueless."

"How else are the Pups on our planet?"

The Blumans in the room stared at the two converse in what they thought was secret. The king narrowed his eyes and banged the bottom of his handy staff on the ground to get everyone's attention.

"No whispering is permitting in the throne room! If you are to speak to each other, everyone in the room must be able to hear you!" He yelled.

Ashka turned back to the imperials. "We are from EARTH. _You _have spaceships on our planet and we want them out! Tell your friends from Krude to get out _too_!"

At this the king's face began to redden, but not from embarrassment. His advisors tried to explain to him what the Earth teens were saying, but the king shook his head and blocked him out. "Preposterous! Do not compare us to those in that damned city that ruins our Marrion! We have no flying vehicles here, and any speak of them beyond this room is prohibited! If I'm ever to release you, you may not speak of any of this advance technology to anyone! Beyond these walls, the only world that exists is Putuptup!"

"You're not listening!" Ashka yelled, her voice raising. The king pointed at her and the soldiers began surrounding her, leaving Gerard without watch. When no one was looking, an arm pulled him away and covered his mouth, taking him.

"Take that disrespectful urchin away until she learns how to communicate with a dignitary like me!" ordered the king. "Scrub her until her true blue shows! _True blue_!" Following that, all the men in the room shouted 'RAH!'.

"I'm _not _blue!" Ashka yelled as she was dragged away.

The queen was reading a book the entire time this debacle was going on.

"Hey, what are you perusing, dear?"

The queen looked up with a chillingly cold expression and tilted her glasses at the king. "An Earth-bound history book. Problem?"

The king frowned and re-adjusted his seat on the throne. "Nothing..."

Gerard tried to resist as he was dragged but he didn't give up much a fight, just because he was confused. The person holding him had soft skin and smelled very nice, something like lilac and cheesecake. When he was allowed to see, he found himself in part of a hallway in one of the wings farthest from the throne chamber. At least, that's where he assumed he was. He was dragged for a long time.

"I apologize for that." Said the person who had held him down. She was very pretty, with sparkling cobalt eyes to match her cobalt skin. She had a wide, tiny nostril nose and thick lips and a wide, round face that matched her big, almond eyes. She had puffy, bright brunette hair all styled to the left side with a big red ribbon holding it together. She had a lot of "bling" as well—hundreds of rings on her visible fingers, so many different necklaces that should've strained her neck by now just by the weight, and earrings that looked as if they dragged on the floor. Apart from the _third arm_ that could pass as a deformity in any age, this medieval one and his futuristic one—she also wore a tiara with the same gem pattern as the king, so his first guess...she was a princess.

"Sorry." He apologized instead for his long stare, and he attempted a bow since he wasn't sure what else to do. He had read in books that that was how you met those in the imperial court. He supposed he could do the _kowtow_ to greet her like the ancient Chinese did, which was smacking his forehead on the ground 9 times, but he didn't see anyone else do it so he didn't think it was necessary.

"You're not blue..." she said, gently touching his cheek with her hand. She was fascinated with his skin color. "From Earth, are you?"

"You know about Earth?" He asked, speaking as gently as her touch. Her soft touch made him forget almost the reason he was here...with that girl...who was she?

The princess giggled a little and removed her hand. He was disappointed that her warmth wasn't there anymore. "I have studied my mother's collection of books. It's...fascinating, but I enjoy my way of lifestyle more."

"Your lifestyle...?"

Her eyes widened for a second in a saddened misperception. "Oh! I did not introduce myself, despite kidnapping you from your lady...I am Princess Janova." She added a quick curtsy.

_That's funny, Janova rhymes with Unova. _"Back home, I'm known as Lord Gerard." He replied with an apologetic smile and another bow of his own.

"They have castles in your home?"

Castles, no. Humongous castle-like stadiums, yes.

"Sorta." He nodded. "I'm sorry to leave so soon but...do you know where they took Ashka?"

"Who is Ashka? Is she your lady?" Janova looked at him with those doll eyes. He looked away. Just a few seconds ago he forgot who Ashka was, and he was ashamed of that.

"Yeah, she is." He nodded with a grin, which made Janova slump a bit in disappointment. But being raised to stand straight, she instantly did as so.

"I'll take you to her." She replied, taking his hand with the creepy third one protruding from her backside. "We must hurry before they take the acid soap when they realize she has no blue skin."

Gerard tried to hide the horrified expression creeping up inside of him. "Umm...okay?"

* * *

><p>"Hey, I'm back! And I've got pics!" James cried optimistically as he climbed aboard the tortilla shaped spaceship. He trudged up to the control cabin where Daniel was asleep across a bench. James's voice woke him up.<p>

"What...what...um, what is it James?" Daniel said, blinking back his tiredness. Despite the numerous opportunities to get sleep on their long ride here, he was the one who got the least because he had been constantly checking on everyone. He even released Jun, who was allowed to take a shower after he got his toilet bucket spilled all over him during the turbulent parts of the ride.

"Pictures!" James said, pulling his 'Gear out of his pocket. He swept his finger across the screen to unlock it (similar to iPods) and the screen opened to the thumbnails of pictures he took. James gave Daniel a tour of the wildlife he spotted, the plants and waters, and the birds-eye view of the valley-village he discovered when he gave his 'Gear to his Skarmory to take pictures with.

While scrolling, Jun came in wearing one of the backup slimming grey jumpsuits and a towel wrapped around his head. He looked worn out with stress and lack of sleep, with lines stretch his eyes and forehead with an unusual frown set on his lips. He managed to smile when he saw James. James hadn't freaked out as much when he saw him as blue, which he was now. He couldn't find any more of the cover up that had concealed the color. Irene must've taken it all.

"What're you guys looking at?" Jun asked, feeling one of his trumpet ears absently. It still astounded him, how hard it was to wear headphones without crunching them to fit.

James grinned and turned around to share the photos. For a second he was stunned to see Jun _blue_ again—a mental image that was hard for him to understand, seeing as Irene was the clear alien all this time—but the moment left, and he happily swiped through the pictures and explained every one of them.

"This is a pokémon that resembles a Turtwig! Hehe! And this is a watch tower! And here's me after I climbed the hill that overlooks the valley! ...and here's the city of Krude in the valley!"

Jun turned his head to the side and took the 'Gear to inspect the picture further. The way he was scrutinizing it worried James.

"I've seen picture of Krude from Irene's camera..." Jun muttered, his eyebrows creasing together. "...this isn't it."

_No. _"This could be another part, right? Somewhere she's never visited?" Daniel suggested hopefully.

Jun zoomed in on an extravagant looking building—palace—castle—whatever it was. "Krude doesn't have structures like this." He said, tapping the screen. That made it zoom out. "This is a palace, and a modern city wouldn't waste space on greenery like this...it'd be more compact, like Jubilife or Castelia..."

"What else would it be?" James asked, taking back his 'Gear. "Irene told us to go in that direction to reach Krude."

"Oh? And where _is _Irene?" Jun retorted cautiously.

Silence.

Jun shook his head. "She should've been the one in that cell, not me..." He sighed. "She landed us in Putuptupian territory, and she's probably on her way to Krude right now to tell them we're here."

* * *

><p>As Jun suspected, that was exactly what Irene was doing. A fellow spaceship of Kai's had gotten her message and quickly picked her up, then dropped her off at the capital of Krude. Krude always had a dark atmosphere—the buildings blocked off the sun, and the air had some kind of purple mist to it, so it was hard to see further than a block. The sidewalk was grey, but the rock was still cobblestone black and silver so whatever car still drove would be going along bumpily.<p>

Along the main square of the capital, the grass was black and families sat there, picnicked, battled, or hung out and rested their feet. Almost everyone here was a familiar shade of blue, but when they saw Irene—military jumpsuit, ponytailed hair and wild entrance from being hastily beamed down—she was seen as strange, as a threat. No one looked her way.

And she was fine with that.

Behind her the capital stood dark and menacing. It was a tall, 4- story building with a domed roof, and standing at the top was a Zapdos using discharge, but the particles of discharge were used as extra lights that lit through the fog. Columns held up the third story and up from the front, and the Krude flag swung in the breeze at the leftmost corner of the building.

Irene boarded the grand escalator to get to the entrance of the building, even though there were other secretaries and government employees already trying to push past her to get up it. Once she was through the double doors she started through to the passageway to the office of the dictator—all she had to do was flash her ID and the robots would allow her to pass—but at the last door, the human guards said no.

"Let me in, fathead!" She sneered, rubbing her ID in his face. "I have special access!"

"Access denied." Stated the man she was talking to. He wore the same jumpsuit she did. "No appointment, no entrance."

"Who the hell needs an appointment to see the dictator!" She shouted loudly. The two men flagging the doors swapped looks annoyingly at how loud she was being. People were beginning to stare.

"He's not in there anyway." Said the other guy. "Dude is on his lunch in the park."

"I'll find him!" Irene said. She turned on her heel and started running down the steps 2 at a time. The other guy slapped him just for saying that.

She should've noticed earlier—secret service was surrounding his seat on the grass with his wife—and although she started calling him on her way across the grass, the men watching over him stopped her.

"Olivier is not taking any requests at the moment." Said the man that stopped him.

"See this ID? I'm Irene Connors! I just came back from _Earth_! Let me through!"

Olivier looked up from his sandwich. "_Earth_?" His authoritive voice was intimidating enough to snap Irene's childish out of her. She uncharacteristically smiled shyly and waved.

"Hello Mr. Olivier...may I please speak with you?"

"Is it classified material?" He retorted. "Because _Earth _is something we do not speak out in public—or private, for that matter. Earth is a world behind us, literally. We will not _speak_ of it or allow anyone outside of my office to know about it."

"Okay, okay," she whispered, kneeling down on her knees. "See sir, Kaisei Arcan took your space army and sent them to Earth, and they're _there _and have successfully invaded and are in the capital, and are awaiting your orders to make our presence public to the other nations—he also has—"

Olivier put his hand up. "Slow your rolls, please." He said, closing his eyes for a second. "Who is _Kaisei Arcan_? I never authorized anyone to take part of the army for private use. I certainly did not."

Irene's thoughts froze. _What? _How was that possible? They _were _official Krude military correct? Where did Kai get the men? How does Olivier not know, with all these men and women being gone for so long...?

"Sir, I don't understand how you don't know...I sent my reports..." Irene fiddled with her 'Gear for the pictures she took before they had re-entered Earth last year—Olivier took one look, then looked away. He looked a little angry and cheated.

"This isn't true. Get her out of here." He said, waving his hand and resuming to his sandwich. The secret service gathered to remove Irene like a pimple.

"Wait, sir, the Pups—" she said.

"Get her out of my sight!" Olivier commanded. Irene was booted all the way out to the street and a taxi was hailed to take her to the outskirts of the city with temporary handcuffs stopping her from jumping out.

When she was dropped next to the bus stop sign, she wrenched her wrists apart and broke the temporary handcuffs. She scowled and took a seat, ignoring the smelly man occupying the space next to her.

_Kai, that jackass! He left me in the dark so much and now this results! _She thought. _The battle isn't even Krude against the Pups anymore—it's Kai against everyone else._

* * *

><p>Lexi and Paru entered the valley village through one of the downhill passageways. It was a backway—they crossed through poverty residential huts, through more impressive housing and a ranch or two—then they were at the market place smack dab in the middle, unbeknownst to them. As they took a rest at a fountain in the center, they couldn't help but notice the ample amount of stares shot in their direction by the blue townspeople.<p>

Looks of disgust, of pity, of confusion. Mother's covered children's eyes, teens gossiped. What looked like the local police began whispering to each other what they should do.

Lexi felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb—more than usual, at least.

"Paru...Do you think we're in the right place?" She asked through her teeth.

He looked around lazily. "Looks like it to me." He shrugged. "People are blue...Wearing clothes from my drama class. Oh hey look—a normal bar."

"That _bar_ serves tepig legs on a rotisserie."

"Yeah, and baby milktank ribs." He said, his mouth already salivating. "Do you think they take credit cards?"

"I doubt your bank account reaches across time and space." She retorted. A thought came to mind, _Dialga and Palkia... _She started looking around again and placed her eyes north where the wide paved road led upwards. It was a beautifully constructed palace—the glassed dome roof top sparkled in rainbow colors, and the towers stood in ivory and peach brick with overgrown vines wrapped around it.

Lexi turned her head to the side. She didn't expect to see that there.

"I wonder where Ashka and Gerard and James went." She muttered.

"You could ask someone." Paru suggested carelessly, although he made minimal effort to look like he did.

She scoffed. "I doubt these people know." She ducked her head down some more because she was tired of the guffawed looks. "I doubt any of them would talk to us because of how we look."

"I dunno, you're a little tan and I'm a little pink, and they're all blue...we're all a mixed bag here. They understand."

"No, they don't. We're the _minority_ here." She reminded. He was relentless though, saying that they were still the dominant race and these Blumans knew it. She shook her head and attempted to debate her way into shedding him some light on the planet they were on, but she was realizing quickly that he was stubbornly one-minded, so anything else she said on the subject would have as much chance of donning on him as a finger would penetrate a solid block of steel.

Ending the conversation, Lexi took a chance and ran up to the first person she saw, who turned out being a woman with long braids wearing wide burlap tunic and balancing a basket on her head. The joyous expression she had instantly melted into one of fear when Lexi approached her speaking a fast version of English.

"Excuse me, miss, could I ask you something? Have you seen two people who have our skin tone?—Excuse me, miss—" Lexi tried getting an answer but the woman was quick to walk away, even when Lexi would intercept her. The woman ended up reaching into her basket and throwing an Aguav at her to get her to go away. Lexi picked up the green fruit and returned to the fountain before it was trampled.

Paru chuckled at her as she returned empty handed. He got up and told her that he was going to give it a try. She watched him closely as he went up to similarly uniformed people and asked if they've seen people who look of his color. They all pointed to the castle uphill.

The two hiked up the hill, dodging fast running horse carriages and pokémon. They were halfway to the drawbridge when they saw Ashka, pinkish-redish all over as if she had a rash, being forced out of the massive front doors. The doors were slammed shut and she was walking down the hill grumbling by the time they caught up.

"Ashka!" Lexi called, which was unusual for both of them because they had a great dislike between them. Ashka brought her head up slowly, as if it weighed too much to try and move it.

"Hey..." she muttered when they finally met.

"I'm afraid to ask but uh...what happened in there?" Lexi asked.

"And what happened to your face?" Paru added albeit rudely. Lexi shot him a look to stop talking.

"Damn blue idiots tried to scrub the "blasphemy" off my skin." Ashka grumbled, crossing her arms—either out of frustration or chills, could be both—"I kept trying to tell them that I wasn't _blue_, but it's like they don't believe it's possible."

"But they have that concealer makeup," Lexi said, "...Right?"

Ashka shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. Honestly, looking at this place...I hardly believe we're in Krude." Lexi nodded, scared about the idea. But she didn't want to be the one to say it.

"Where's Gerard?" Paru asked, although he really couldn't care. It seemed polite. He didn't mind being the next most attractive on the spaceship, though.

Ashka gasped when she remembered that she left Gerard in the throne room. She turned around to the castle, and Lexi ogled at the thought of Gerard being somewhere in _there_. But she doubted any of them were going to be allowed back in after Ashka was kicked out.

But a plan wasn't needed, because seconds later they saw Gerard's form exiting the palace doors, along with an extravagantly dressed girl on his arm. He tried to break from her on the way down but she was clinging too tight. Ashka's first instinct was to rip them apart the second that they met them down here, but Lexi looped her arm in Ashka's before her fists could begin preparing.

Ashka yelled to Lexi, "What the hell are you—"

"Shh." Lexi snapped once the two were in hearing range.

"Hey guys..." Gerard began, reaching them. Ashka's lips formed into a thin line and she said through held back grit teeth,

"Hello _Gerard_. Who's..." Her eyes pointed to the stranger tightly clinging to him.

"This is Princess Janova." He said. "Janova, this is Ashka, Lexi, and Paru." He said, pointing to everyone who matched the name. Ashka grunted, Lexi gave a giggling hello, and Paru just stared.

"I didn't think Krude would have a princess." Lexi thought aloud.

Janova's face changed to one of peace and tranquility to one of offense and anger. "You think we are—"

"Right now, all that _I _think, is that you're _too_ close to Gerard." Ashka stated.

Janova's face retaliated, from angry to a challenged. "_Excuse me_? Who are you to tell me who I'm too close to?"

Gerard felt uncomfortable. Janova's shy and sweet princess act was just a ploy. When a meteorite like Ashka is shot into an inexperienced shield like Janova's, it instantly melted away. It was something about Ashka's authorative aura that cracked people so quickly like that. He found that kind of power over people overwhelming, but Ashka didn't even seem like she knew she had it.

Ashka smirked. She knew she had the upper hand and was amused to see a princess's face so frazzled already. "I'm Gerard's _best _friend. Who are _you_? The chick he met five minutes ago?" Her sneer shaved off inches of Janova's ego.

"I can have whoever I want. I want Gerard." Janova said, tugging Gerard's arm closer to her. Ashka's eyes flashed with something of ire.

"Hey—" Gerard protested.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" Ashka shouted, and Gerard muttered an 'oh brother'. She continued to get loud, screaming, "You slutty half-dressed wannabe celebrities think you can have whatever the hell you want! Why? Because you're gorgeous? Because you have money? Because you have power? Well _I'll_ show you power! _Battle_! Right now!" By this time, a pokéball was in her hand and pointed at Janova's face.

"Déjà vu." Muttered Lexi.

"This happened before?" Paru asked.

"Yeah, with Sherry."

"Oh. Oh wow."

"Wait just a second!" Gerard shouted, pulling free his arm as he distanced himself from everyone. Janova held her tongue before she accepted. "I am _not _a prize! I refused to be one _again_!" He said. "If there's going to be a battle for my freedom, then _I _will be the contender!"

"Very well." Janova said. "But men cannot battle women, it's just not _done_. You will battle my boyfriend instead."

"She has a _boyfriend_?" Lexi whispered in disbelief.

"Whore alert." Ashka muttered under her breath.

* * *

><p>Clear space was dark, hallow, and cold. Enormous city-sized spaceships sat here as fueling centers and homes for many of the Bluman ships and citizens who were waiting for the okay to drop into Earth. This was the place that Megan was held captive. These lines of spaceships followed Earth orbit at the same distance as millions of other satellites.<p>

Another difference between Serena and Sarah was that Sarah didn't need oxygen to breath. Her internal nanobots worked with that it had to pump her systems. She could plug into anything like a cellular device would, so that was another way to get her energy. She managed to get into space by magnetically latching onto the bottom of the Bluman ships and hitching a ride until she got there. Now she hid inside an obsolete satellite.

It was grey and just as cold, but her body temperature was colder. This was nothing to her.

Communications from Earth were fuzzier here but she could still get instructions from Lucas, who was told to guide Sarah since they couldn't locate Serena. Lucas had tried tricking Sarah into looking for Serena, but Sarah proved to be far more smarter than his schemes. Or rather, she was too stubborn to overlook her primary commands.

"_Report. What's it like out there_?" Lucas asked.

Sarah scanned the area with her orange colored eyes. There were three colossal ships slowly inching their ways through the orbit. It hardly looked like it moved at all. And even if it did, it wouldn't have shown, since orbit carried them all at the same time. Sarah turned the dial that was where her ear was supposed to be and the pictures transmitted back to Earth.

Lucas received them a minute later. "_Holy—what are those! It looks like you could fit ten football fields in there!_"

"_Sarah, go check it out._" Came Mr. Bay's voice. That had her moving faster.

But before she did, she messed with the wires on the satellite and coordinated it to de-orbit and crash into the capital in Holon. In a few minutes, it would be the only shooting star at nine in the morning.

* * *

><p>All the livestock were fenced around one large area, perhaps the entire ship long, on one of the huge freight ships that restocked and housed other Bluman ships. They were kept in clean quarters with easy access to bathrooms, cots, and recreation. Recreation included interactive floors for hopscotch or round things that came off a string called <em>yoyos<em>, which many of the younger kidnapped generation were excited about. Cots were spread out along the walls, only with enough space to fit one person.

Megan wasn't the only ranger taken. To her relief, although a guilty relief, she was glad that Ross was there too, among others. Ross was very engrossed in the Bluman paraphernalia and was missing almost their entire first night so she could get a tour of the ship wearing handcuffs. Megan continued to stay with the few small children who couldn't meet with their parents, although the Blumans were very understanding to find them. Now she only had two she felt obligated to watch over.

The heat lamp set high above them in the ceiling was beginning to dim, signaling bedtime again. Families and children began running to their assigned cots and Megan helped her two boys into theirs.

But then she heard a metal twisting.

"Miss Megan, can you tell us a bedtime story?" Asked the one on the top bunk of the two towered cot.

"Yeah, one with pirates versus aliens! And the pirates win!" Rooted the one the bottom bunk.

"Hold on, let me check something out." She said, her head still turned to the side. "I'll be right back. Don't move." She told them. She checked the exits with her eyes where a few Blumans watched but none of them seemed concerned over the metal twisting she heard behind the walls. She knew technology was beyond space now, so why was the metal twisting have similar affects to her gut?

She disappeared into the public bathroom. It sounded like the sound was following her. In fact, it was getting the loudest at the air vent in the ceiling. Megan was aware that there was a Bluman watching and went into a stall. She could see from here, flakes were raining from the vents. The Bluman on watch stepped out for a moment.

The vent door made a loud clang as it was pulled from its hinges, and then another _CRASH! _when it was dropped on the ground. A figure dropped onto the floor with a _thud_. Megan peered through the crack of the stall door.

Her first thought was _Serena?_, but she could tell there were certain things about her that looked different. She was in Kyurem form, in darker colors and tones...no, this wasn't Serena, she was sure.

The Serena look-alike touched her finger to her ear and stopped to listen. Then, she ran out the room with a horrifying glow in her palms. Megan followed her out, keeping distance. The girl made a screeching, harpy-like scream that woke almost everyone up from their drifting sleep. The wind whipped up and her arms span like a windmill, whipping icy winds in every direction. With another scream, a ray of ice escaped her mouth and lined the walls in a crooked path, only to frighten everyone with her power.

While the Blumans went after her, Megan ran back to the boys to comfort them. The one on the top bunk thought it was cool while the one on the bottom was scared beyond belief.

"We must stop her!" Ross came over from across the room. "She must not destroy our Bluman friends!"

"_Friends_?" Megan couldn't help but spit. She thought Ross was crazy. Or at this point, _knew_. "These aliens are using us as a part of their gene pool! They even put _me _on their list of breeding!"

"I know," Ross said, her face submissive. "They have already tested their mechanics on me." With that, she questioningly placed a hand on her stomach.

Megan held in her gasp. "You mean...they..."

Ross didn't shiver, like she would've if it had been normal circumstances. "I have been raped before, and I did not like it...But Megan, I wanted their alien baby, I..."

"Stop talking, you're really disgusting me." Megan said, cutting her off. "That _thing _that just turned this place twenty degrees colder looks like Serena! She looks like something out of Mr. Bay's lab!"

"She no doubt was." Ross shrugged, hands still covering her stomach, as if searching for a life there. "Mr. Bay has kept many secrets from many people. I would not be surprised if he lied in our faces."

"I only want to know if she's on our side or not." Megan muttered. The Serena-lookalike came back around, only this time she was flying and dodging bullets. Megan told the children to crawl under the bunks as she hit the deck herself to avoid misfire. The lookalike froze the remaining Blumans that were after her.

Ross grimaced as the lookalike flew down to another deck towards the engine room. "She will have a lot more people to face before she has conquered this whole ship."

* * *

><p>Janova's boyfriend was a Duke off the coast of Putuptup. He was a bright shade of cyan, like a chlorine-pool-water kind of look, and his eyebrows expressions were hilarious. He accepted the challenge against Gerard by the beach. Ashka and Lexi sat in the sand under the giant umbrella that Janova had servants holding.<p>

"Let us go now! Sun will be going soon!" Janova said, clapping her hands together incessantly.

"Very well!" Her boyfriend's name was Herrick and he threw up what looked like a pokéball—possibly, it was spherical in shape and split in half, but did not rebound back up to the trainer's hand. The pokémon coming out had to kick it backwards for Herrick to catch. The pokémon of choice was a male Unfezant. It's red mask was a fruity shade of purple and its roost was blue-green.

There was something strange about that bird. Well, there were a lot of strange things he had seen on the way here, and this strange Unfezant was the first normal pokémon he had ever seen. Gerard plucked a pokéball from his belt, expanded it with a touch of a button, and tossed it into the air. Snorunt appeared, but with the audience it could see, it buried its face into its shawl and shied away.

"_That _is your champion?" Sneered Herrick. "I laugh at you sir! HA HA HA!"

His jolly laugh came out more obnoxious. "Sure, whatever." Gerard muttered. "Are we starting this or what? I've got things to do."

"Other than battle me? Preposterous! This sir is the highlight of your day!" Herrick replied, turning his nose into the air. "Isn't that right Janova?"

"Correct hun!" called Janova from under the umbrella. Ashka scoffed. Lexi's nose twitched and she sneezed on a few blue weeds implanted into the sand. Paru looked at Lexi strangely. The tip of her nose was turning blue, literally.

"I'm starting now!" Herrick said, "Unfezant, Uproar!" Unfezant planted its talons into the ground, then leant forward and went _"FEZZZZZ!"_, so loudly that the sound waves were visible. Snorunt clasped its ears shut with its hands, but the sound couldn't be blocked. It was so powerful that she was knocked off her feet and into a rock.

"Snorunt, get up and use Shadow Ball!" Gerard said. Snorunt pulled itself together and gathered its hands—

"Unfezant, fly up! Dodge it!"

The sphere was shot, but Unfezant easily dodged it, then turned around and flew straight down, using Quick Attack, and knocked Snorunt off her feet once again.

"Snorunt use Frost Breath!" Gerard said while Unfezant was still close. Snorunt took a deep breath, then blew out blue smoke—but Unfezant batted it away with its large wings. None of Snorunt's attacks were strong enough to even scratch the thing. Gerard bit his lip. If this didn't work out, was he _really _struck with Janova? Now that her true personality came out, he wasn't so keen to the notion.

"Unfezant, take that little priss and drop it in the ocean!" Herrick said.

"Hey!" Gerard said, just as Unfezant swept helpless Snorunt into its talons and soared up higher. "That's a foul! You can't drop pokémon into the water!"

"Rules were not established sir! I can do as I see fit!" Herrick smirked. Unfezant dropped Snorunt into one of the waves.

"No! Snorunt!" Gerard ran to the edge of the sea line. Ashka stood on her knees and Lexi covered her mouth with her hand, stopping her from saying anything snide. Paru lied back and muttered that the show was getting spicy.

Snorunt popped back up but it was far out to sea and was floating back further with every wave. It cried out, trying to pull its hands up, but it could not.

Then a white glow covered its entire body.

"...What's in that water?" Ashka asked curiously.

"Our God's healing, perhaps." Janova said. "Or it has found bits of Dawn Stone."

Snorunt began growing longer, its arms stretching further, its feet disappearing behind a cloth. When the light faded away, a Froslass floated there, grinning. Gerard matched her look.

"Come back to the battle, Froslass!" He called.

"Oh, so you haven't forfeited?" Herrick asked. Unfezant's head cocked to the side.

"The battle's hardly begun." Gerard said. Froslass could float now, and appeared back on the sand. Her eyes burned with fighting spirit.

_It feels as though a part of me has died, _thought the half ghost, _But another part of me has sprung back to life. The light has carried me to this new body._

"I trust you, Froslass." Gerard whispered. "Do what you have to do."

Froslass took that as a signal that her leash was dropped. She smirked and turned back to her opponents.

She unleashed a Blizzard attack that froze half the beach.

* * *

><p>A fleet of spacecrafts were approaching Mt. Chimney. Almost all of them were in defensive mode now, with guns equipped and jutting out of the sides of the ship. While crossing the ocean to Hoenn, the fleets experiences turbulence—namely, foreign ships. They looked almost exactly the same if it weren't for the different colors. They were Pup ships, as Irene had predicted, and they were all hidden in the water.<p>

Kai had lost two ships on his way here. Nevertheless, he did not call off the mission to dispose of Serena. He merely commanded more of the space-fleets to re-enter earth and diminish of the ocean dwellers. It might take a longer time now to reach the outer countries of Oceania, but the sooner the Pups were out of the picture, the better.

"We'll be at the mouth of the volcano momentarily, sir." Said the captain of the ship at the wheel.

"Very good." Kai said, and approached the beaming tube that frozen Serena was still captive in. He gave her mostly looks of disgust, because her appearance wasn't the least attractive. "Have any last words to say now, _freak_? How about, 'Oh, Kai don't melt me, I'll do whatever you say!'?" he shrieked in a high voice, assuming to mime Serena's, "Loyalty is what I need most in times like these, so choose."

Serena did not reply. In fact, she didn't make a move. She was completely frozen.

"She's probably already dead." Kai scoffed, turning away. The sight of impudence stung. "What being can live in such cold environments?"

"Uh, a lizard, maybe." Said one of the cabin boys.

"Shut up or you drop with her!" Kai shot back. The guy walked away quietly.

_Beep! Beep! _Went the front screen.

"What now?" Kai groaned.

"More Pups!" reported the captain frantically. The 3D radar was flooded with dots representing Pup ships. Kai took the microphone linked to other ships and barked in orders.

"Formation around the alpha ship! Full fire with the atomic missiles! B-squad flank the ends, C-Squad at top and send flare rockets! Go go go!"

With only seconds thinking time, the air outside was filled with whistle-like explosions that blew through the spacecrafts glass, popping everyone's ears. The clouds exploded along with other ships, Pup and Krude. A team of Krude ships encircled Kai's ship and made a force field that made them invisible. The leading ship was destroyed with flurries of red and orange embers and black smoking ship parts dropping back to the hemisphere.

On the radar, the Pup numbers diminished worse than the Krude's. The Pup's made a hasty retreat, and the captain reported the lost ships. Almost all the ships that had been blasted were empty and controlled by robots, so they had only lost maybe two lives. There was a moment of silence for the pilots lost.

"We're directly above the volcano!" said the captain.

"Drop her!" Kai yelled. A button was pressed with the end of a fist. The floor beneath frozen Serena disappeared, and she fell instantaneously. And fell, fell towards the hot, sizzling pool of red.

A missile passed, narrowly missing Serena's foot. The ship that fired it was blown up by Krude fighter pilots. Kai's fleet zipped away in the next second, and the sky was clear, even with the metalshed that previously happened.

Iced Serena dropped into the red molten with a soft _splash_. Sucked into the lava like a mouth.

Eyes, snapped open within the ice that was melting and freezing and melting. As her shaky breath blew for what could be the last time, the hottest sensations clicked to the coldest sensations. The lava became ice. The liquid became solid. She strained her fist up and broke through the encasing.

Just like the first day she escaped from the Mossdeep labs, she had climbed out of a hole that used to be a geyser. Now she climbs out of a hole that used to be a pool of lava. Serena flicked off the ice and took another breath, assuring that she was alive and kicking. Her long, rocky wings snapped out of her back and stretched to the length of the ends of the volcano.

With a leap, she was back into the air, spinning raining ice pellets.

She clicked the Bluetooth on her ear.

"Lucas, I'm back. Fill me in on what I missed and direct me to my next assignment."

* * *

><p>The emergency horn is blaring and the airlocks are unclicking. What's worse, the panic light was flashing and everyone was <em>panicking<em>. Megan immediately located the emergency ships and directed everyone to it, making sure that Ross and the children were on first. With or without more people, she shut the door and ran to the cabin room, directly up.

She didn't know how to steer a ship, but until she had found someone who could she did her best with what labels could provide. She started the engine, took the steering stick, and flew the ship forward and out into space.

A _huge _explosion pushed the spaceship the rest of the way out until they were drifting. The only thing Megan could see from the receptors at the tail ends of the ship was the giant inhabiting supply-ship bursting from the backside, then the front side. A tiny figure flew out of one side, used a blue-type attack as a pokémon would, and _pushed _the burning ship into the next ship, which in turn exploded and crashed into the _next _ship. The domino effect continue until all Krude supply ships were destroyed and all their emergency ships were flying wildly like flies around an old hotdog.

Megan pressed the intercom. "_Please, whoever is a spaceship pilot or knows ANYTHING about ship flying, please report to the central control cabin at the top deck! Everyone else, please make yourself comfortable and be aware of the emergency exits!"_

Her heart was beating out of control as she finished the announcement. While they were slowing drifting in space, her stationary heart was beating out of her lungs. She felt like her chest might explode from nervousness and confusion. All she wanted was _Daniel_, for him to be there to squeeze her hand and tell her everything would be okay. She knew she was _way _over her head now! She had no idea how to fly a ship, or if any of the people aboard were Bluman!

The person that walked in looked familiar. The striped suit and top hat should've gave it away.

"Daryl!...I had no idea you were there with us!" Megan gasped and hugged him. Daryl was the Fortree city gym leader who they had last seen almost a week ago. It seemed like so long ago that they'd seen him.

"Hehehe! I heard you needed a pilot?" He pointed at himself with his thumb.

"You can fly?"

"Like a squirrel!" He replied in his usual squeal, taking the helm. His faced became serious, which was faster than usual. This alien ordeal must've matured him too. _We've all changed, _Megan thought. He took the steering stick and started calculating with the dashboard. "I've been listening with Ross, that ranger girl. We heard the Blumans chatting while in that huge containment room. The Pups have risen and defeated almost all of Krude."

"What does that mean?" Megan groaned. Pups, Krudes; all she knew was that aliens were in charge of Oceania, and no one was safe. "Who the hell are we dealing with here!"

"The Pup's leader is this morphing man, Brett I hear them call him. He can turning into multiple people, and had morphed into that Kai person and taken office. All the Krudes of Kai's were quickly replaced and disposed of, except for Kai who they couldn't locate...well, until a few minutes ago, I heard."

"I see, keep going."

"They were going to destroy this person...err...Kyurem person, I think that's what they referred to her as."

"Serena?" Megan's eyes widened and her heart puttered into sand. She refused to believe that Serena was dead. "What else?"

"That's all I know." Daryl sighed. "The Krudes are gone but the Pups are here, and they're even stricter. I hear they're going to dismantle everything technology so that we can return to living like Christ's era."

Megan shook her head in defeat. "Where will we...go...then?" It was hard for her to say anymore. She felt like she had taken three blows to the chest.

"The smartest thing to do right now is go to North America and hide out there. They have the best military as of now, and they're the farthest from Oceania."

"I thought Europe was."

"No...Western Europe was conquered by Kai two hours ago, before he was booted off the throne."

"...Oh." Megan couldn't fathom it. All these things were happening on such a global scale, but all she could see was her home town being ransacked by aliens, and her father having his arm screwed off. He would get an infection if they unsafely removed his prosthetics. She broke into tears at the thought of her father possibly dying in all of this.

And she broke into another wave of tears when she realized she might never see Daniel again either, wherever he was.

* * *

><p>Sarah watched from a far as the last of the supply ships drifted downwards into space. In the next few minutes, she casted powerful beams of ice that ripped through the organs of ships and tore them apart, killing Blumans of any race. She had gotten through at least two fleets before her limbs became frozen in a tractor beam.<p>

The second she was in a beam-tube, the back of her head was smashed in with a metal crowbar. That of course didn't do anything to her internally, since she was mostly robot, but her eye functions shut down so she couldn't see a thing, and her hearing was out so communicating with Lucas was a fail.

Next she was jerked from the tube, and she could feel hands running all along her body, searching for something. Many hands, more than one, and her fist knocked into several faces to get them to stop. They were trying to press a damp cloth down her throat but she bit down on it to stop it from going further. She tried to harness Ice Beams but something was off.

They reached her neck and found a crack. She was held down as the crack was pulled apart, but to her it was the most painful thing in the world. It was like someone was trying to hold open her eyelids, or tear them off completely.

They found the button. A cold finger pressed down onto it. Everything slowly began turning off. The last thing was her brain.

Sarah was shut down.

"Scrap heap." Said Brett, dusting his hands off. The pesky robot girl was taken away. He turned back to the ship captain and said, "Take us back down to earth. With all distractions out of the way, the reign of the Pups begins _now_."

* * *

><p>Janova insisted that they eat brunch at the palace after the battle was over. Gerard was the clear winner but Herrick was no sore loser and spoke earth strategy with him the entire way back to the palace. Brunch was served at a long rectangular table in the fancy dining hall, where real-painted portraits instead of camera photos were hanging on the walls of the previous kings and queens.<p>

Lexi couldn't focus as she ate. She had to use her left hand to use the fork while her right hand was sitting under her thigh. She couldn't show anyone what was happening to her.

Someone was already noticing. Ashka had been stuck to sit right across from her, and noticed her shoulders had a blue tint to it, like there were blueberries deep inside her skin.

"Hey, Lexi," she whispered across the table, "What's with your shoulders? Did Janova find blue makeup to make you fit in or something?"

Lexi tapped her fork to the porcelain plate nervously. "I—it's not that noticeable, is it?"

"Oh, it's noticeable all right."

"Ashka, come with me to the bathroom!" Lexi shouted out loud. Her voice echoed and everyone hushed and turned to her to give her a strange look—even the servants with the silver food trays. Lexi blushed and Ashka gave her a flustered look before standing up.

"Where's the bathroom?" Ashka asked Janova. The princess was in her element now, and didn't even bother to look up to acknowledge the question. A female servant came over and led them away, but Lexi held her head down the entire way.

"The bathroom…is a closet. With a hole and a roll of toilet paper." Lexi said as soon as she stepped into the tiny area. She searched around and found a mirror on the back wall. She inspected all the blue on her body and shuddered in horror. "It's worse than I thought." She squealed lowly.

"What did you _do_? Snort an Oran berry?" Ashka said, scoffing.

"This isn't funny!" Lexi shot back, unamused by her sarcasm. "How come it's not happening to _you_, huh! Why am I the only one turning blue!"

"Hold on, what's this?" Ashka pointed to the flower Lexi had previous had tucked in her ear, but it got lost in her massive jungle of hair and was under her neck now. Ashka pulled out the flower and shook it. Blue pollen came off when she blew on it. "Do you think it's this?"

"I don't see how; if that were the case all of us would be blue…" Lexi muttered.

"You and Paru stayed in the wilderness longer." Ashka pointed out. "But if you want to hang low just in case the Blumans think you're kin, …just take my hoodie." She sighed and stripped off her black hoodie, handing it to Lexi. Lexi was very grateful and pulled it on. The hoodie had an overwhelming scent of gingersnaps on it, but she didn't mind.

Back in the dining hall, Paru rubbed the back of his neck where a deep blue spot was spreading. He looked to the left where Ashka and Lexi were returning. Lexi wore Ashka's black hoodie over her tank top, which was strange. But this whole planet was strange, so he ignored it. He looked over to Janova who had just let out an excited gasp and pointed to the other set of doors.

"Mother! Come in, come in!" Janova gestured for the queen of the kingdom to enter. The queen curtsied as she entered and stood next to Janova at the head of the table. She looked larger than life in her extravagantly designed clothes.

"I thought your father told you to rid of the street rats. But _instead_ you let them sit with their elbows on the table." The queen said. Her voice was demanding and gravelly, and the now aware Paru slipped his elbows off the table bashfully.

"Mother, they're from Earth!"

"I'm aware." The queen scanned them with a watchful eye.

"You're _aware_, huh?" There Ashka went with her challenging tone. The torch was picked up. "So you're _aware _of your spaceships invading our planet, correct?"

The sound of silverware scraping across plates ceased.

Another challenge from the queen's inquisitive look was raised. "You have seen our kingdom, I'm sure. So perhaps, Earth girl, that _you _are aware that spaceships do not exist on our side? If you want to know who invaded your world, take it up with the Krude mongrels, not us."

"The spaceships I'm speaking of say that they represent the kingdom of Putuptup." Ashka replied. "So what do you say to _that_?"

"They're liars. Complete liars." The queen shrugged indifferently. "Anyone can claim they are from a place and don't have to prove it. Many of our Putuptupian subjects travel to Krude and are caught up in the advanceness of technology, and when they're on those space contraptions, they pay homage to us. But we are _not_ the same."

"I find that statement fabricated." Ashka shot back, gobbling the speech with her fists banged on the table. "You can't tell me that you are _not _the people those spaceships report back to! I've seen the smoke lines in the sky; I know the ships have passed here! Don't give me this 'they claim what they claim' crap!"

It was at that next moment that all the wide arced glass-less windows decided to shoot of a blue light. The lights came from the headlights of a spaceship.

"_Told _you!" Ashka said, smirking.

But it didn't matter, because the abduction beam zapped through the windows and sucked every bit of life out of the room, leaving only a spinning plate as a reminder that they were having brunch, not a debate.

* * *

><p>"Here's what we're going to do." Daniel said, pounding his fist into his palm. "We're going to crash our spaceship into the core of Krude."<p>

James and Jun span in their seats to give him the most incredulous looks. Their next thoughts listed asylums to which to contain him in, because no sane person would make that suggestion.

"No—hear me out." Daniel said quickly before he received their crazy looks again. "What we need is _attention_. We are human, sure, but parading through their streets nude will not get those aliens out of our planet."

James rubbed his neck. "It was full proof..."

"No." Daniel deadpanned. "If we're going to show their leader that we mean business, the only way to do it is to show him how serious we are."

"If we destroy the ship in the process, how are we going to get off this God forsaken field of blue?" Jun said. "I say we catch up with Irene!"

"She's miles away now." Daniel said, swatting the air. "James, do you know where the others went?"

"They went to Putuptup, I guess." James shrugged. "We could go look for them."

Daniel was torn. "That could take too long. But I can't leave them there..."

"I'll look for them." Jun said. "I have a Tropius. It can probably take us to Krude on its back."

"Hurry!" James called after Jun as he ran for the landing deck. James turned back to the controls. "So we're ramming into the center of Krude?"

"I prefer the busiest section of the city." Smirked Daniel.

James shrugged and cracked the cricks out of his neck. He typed in commands. "It's not every day that your driving instructor tells you to _crash _into a pole, but, frakk, I'm doing it."

* * *

><p>It is now night time on Earth, and another day has passed in the reign of the aliens. The other countries are now joining in the fight, but it is too expensive for any of them to send more than a few spaceships to Oceania to overthrow the aliens. Every ship that was sent was presumably obliterated to pieces before it was two miles within the border.<p>

Lucas was confined in a guest room in the Mossdeep laboratory, and since it was too dangerous to go outside, he couldn't go home. That was all he really wanted now—a hug from his mom, a punch on the shoulder from his dad, and a warm embrace from his own bed. But he couldn't, not when he was vital to Serena's mission as the communications guy. He could access Facebook now, but he was monitored 24/7, and whatever inappropriate status he posted was deleted a second later.

**Lucas Taylor **_This alien shiz is bull._  
>Post was deleted.<p>

**Lucas Taylor **_Where the hell did all my friends go?  
><em>Post was deleted.

**Lucas Taylor **_I miss my fam-unit...I want to go home...  
><em>Post was deleted by owner.

He was closing his laptop when an alert zinged across the screen. It was a request for video chat. Without checking out the caller ID, he accepted. Amber's unlovely expressions flashed back at him on the screen.

"_Hey, Lucas."_

"'Sup." He nodded. He had nothing to say anymore. The excitement of this journey had been sucked dry, with all this crap that had happened. He didn't think his summer journey would end with an alien take over.

"_We have to make this conversation quick, because it isn't LEGAL, Wink wink nudge nudge._" She said, "_We've got the American troops on our side now. We need to fly to America and we'll be safe, okay? I'm going to pick you up in a teleport and hope for the best."_

"No." He deadpanned.

"_No! What the hell, did you say NO? In THIS situation?"_

"Serena's life is practically in my hands. I'm not going to back down just because the game got harder." He said, crossing his arms.

Amber's nostrils blew up. "_Lucas, you are a freaking CHILD. You are a boy, not a MAN. Think of yourself would you?"_

"I'm proving to be a man by not running away, like _you _are."

"_I'm trying to stay alive." _She hissed. "_You don't think I have other responsibilities too? I'm the one lugging Nicolas on a child's leash. HE'S the child Lucas, the one whose life we're trying to save. With the Pups taking over Oceania, there's no hope for people like him. They take boys, eat them, chew them, and spit them out as soldiers with guns."_

"You're afraid of guns." He pointed out.

"_No one told you that."_

"I can see it in your eyes."

She shook her head. _"That's beside the point. Dammit, I'm trying to HELP you!"_

"Help yourself." He stated, his eyes turning to an annoyed glare. "I've got my own things to worry about." It seemed rude, but he closed the laptop and the chat altogether. He sighed and set the laptop aside, then lied his head on the pillow.

But the moment of peace could not be held. Serena's Bluetooth came in contact with him and he could hear her frantic gasps. She had blown up Kai's ship with Kai in it, and he was severely injured from the fall. She was trying to help him, but she didn't know how. She tried freezing the gashes, but that only made it worse.

Her tears grappled him.

"_Lucas, w-what do I do! He's dying Lucas, he's dying! It's all my fault!"_

"Calm down Serena, take this slow. Take him to the nearest pokémon center." Lucas replied as calm as possible. But he really didn't want to _save _this jerk.

"_There IS no pokémon center near here! I'm somewhere in Hoenn but I don't know where! There are no ships overhead and the only ones that are aren't Kai's ships! He's dying, dear God! Gross, his blood is all over my hands!"_

Kai's voice came in through the Bluetooth. That's how close his mouth was to Serena's ear, apparently. "_It's not your fault...person...girl. I was an...asshole to your...planet."_

"_Shut up, will you? You're dying!"_

"I think he knows he's dying." Lucas said. "I think the best thing is to let him die in peace."

"_You're crazy Lucas, c—crazy!__And don't you dare try to hang up!" _Serena barked. She sniffled a long snot, and Lucas only laughed in his head while thinking how gross that was.

"_Look, I done some bad things in my past..._" Kai muttered, "_I done some bad things in the present, too. I didn't mean to kill those two...it wasn't part of the plan."_

"_Kay and Elliot?"_

"_Yeah..'dem two...I didn't mean to. I knew the Pups were on my tail, so I needed to build an army, out of fear..." _He coughed heavily. Lucas grimaced, wanting so badly not to hear this conversation. "_Dammit, I messed up...I..._" Kai sighed. "_If you see Jun...tell him I'm sorry. I'm his best friend...I didn't mean to leave him like this."_

"_Leave him alone?"_

"_Nah, he has Lucas...that's his real best friend." _Kai muttered. Lucas smiled a little, but it drooped when he remembered that Kai was struggling. With every breath, with every cough, Kai losing himself. "_I was looking for a girl for Jun, a girl that would love him no matter how annoying he could be..._" Kai hacked vehemently again and Serena pleaded with him to stay with her. He was quiet, then started up again. "_I never realized...the girl for him, was the girl who he'd always been with...even when she was being pulled in every direction to please."_

"_Who?" _Serena asked. Lucas thought to himself, he already knew the answer.

Kai coughed again, and groaned. It was hurting to stay alive. "_It's funny, really...I'd been lugging that pest around for all my life...who knew the biggest pests of mine would find love in each other..." _

"Irene." Lucas said, mostly to himself. Serena heard.

"_Is it Irene?_" Serena asked.

"_Yeah...that kooky blue chick. Heh..._" Kai's coughs became much too frequent, and Serena must've backed up because Lucas couldn't hear it anymore. Silence continued on the line for the next few minutes. Serena sighed. He could hear her wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"_He left, Lucas. The world's most recent threat has l—left us...permanently._"

Lucas withheld the 'YES!' he wanted to fist pump.

* * *

><p>Sarah jolted and gasped through both her nose and mouth. Every cell in her had jumped alive, just for a second, and then everything was working again. Her sight, her touch, her hearing, everything. The Pachirisu's that had zapped her awake scurried deeper into the trash.<p>

A loud craning sound. Trash was flying out of a vacuum hole. She was being jettisoned.

Sarah's wings snapped out of her back and she flew out into space, avoiding the massive amount of trash that had been thrown out with her. She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus her bleary vision. She felt like she had woken on the wrong side of the bed. The sight in front of her were more fleets of ships, ships which she had thought she destroyed already. And oh, look, a planet that looked similar to Earth but she knew was not Earth.

Her primary instincts were the first to return.

_Destroy_.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, its 11:55pm and I decided to update. I've got too many things now to even worry about viewership. I updated on time, though! Half this chapter kinda bored me with its repititiveness, but it was necessary. Next chapter is definitly the last!...I think! But, grr, I have so many tests now...I have SATs next week and then AP exams the week following, so now I'm going to be headdesking myself in trying to study. I think it was unwise of me to prolong this story so long. I feel like it should've been done by now.<strong>

**Next update: Undetermined. I'm thinking June. It depends on how far along I can get while studying.**

**On the plus side: LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! :D Or maybe we were beat by Chapter 27.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH to **_AshKetchumDarkSide_**, **_KingOfStories01_**, and **_Shadow of Eckhart_** for reviewing last chapter! Please grace me with your presence again, guys :P you're motivation helps me write!**

**Again, thanks for sticking around, reading, still being interested, and for being awesome! :D I hope you all don't mind how long it might take to get to the last chapter. I'm sorry T_T Lemme reach for that 1600 on the SATs, okay? T_T (My PSAT was 154, so I'm trying to get higher...its not that impressive :l)**


	31. Spacefront

**WARNING: Super lengthy chapter. I advise, if you don't have much time, to save the reading for when you do or read piece by piece. I myself took 2 months to write this, and I enjoyed every bit. I do not own pokemon, and all OCs belong to their owners.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 30 - Spacefront<strong>

**Day 17, 1 AM**

When it was finally time for Lucas to rest, he found he was unable to do anything but lie under the covers of the bed provided by the laboratory and shut his eyes. Perhaps music would've helped calm him. He had his 'Gear plugged in to charge and had his favorite electronica playlist on blast. It only kept him more awake and restless.

To think, only two days ago had things been normal. Two days ago all of his trip mates were in arms reach instead of astronomical units away. Two days ago he had free reign to do what he pleased on the internet, and he didn't have to worry about life as he knew it changing for the worst. With the Krude's out of the way, the Pups have taken over Oceania. In a history book it could be known as the event of the shortest alien invasion and raid.

The alien invasion was two days ago at exactly 5:21 pm. He remembered that he was with an unconscious Serena in the basement cells. He remembered that James was about to battle Brett for the title as Lilycove Champion. He remembered the last thing Lexi had said to him.

"_I honestly really like the idea of you and Serena becoming a couple. She's really sweet and she deserves a man...But I guess she has to settle for _you_, huh?"_

Lexi hadn't meant to sound so brutal when she said it. She was actually very playful and loved the idea of Lucas actually settling on a decent girl. But now that he's had time to think about it, it offends him that she thought of him as a _boy_, and not a _man_.

Would a boy follow the girl he adores to a hellhole in disguise? Would a boy work against his will on computer simulations he very little understood? No, because a boy would run. A boy would have messed things up. Lucas refused to be referred to as a _boy_. Perhaps, when he was flirting with Lexi, he did come off as a boy. That was only because he knew he had a very slim chance of ever ending up with her.

Serena was different. He and Serena were on the same level in various aspects, and for her, he chose not to run.

_So why does it bother me so much now? _Lucas thought as he lied on his side. The music on his 'Gear went to a soprano guitar solo that escalated his own thoughts. _Because I'm running, _Lucas thought, _Serena is sleeping on the cold forest floor somewhere while I'm in a bed. I shouldn't be sleeping soundly in this shit._

He tossed the sheets aside and yanked his 'Gear from the charger. He spent precious seconds looping his belt through the loops and snugging it tight. He plucked off a pokéball and expanded it, but did not throw it. He kept it in his hand as he pulled his backpack over his shoulder and opened the door slightly. The hallway was empty. The security cameras shouldn't be working because the Krude's had already done damage on them. Lucas shut the door quietly and started running lightly.

He passed through the back hallways until he reached the motor vehicle garage. The area smelt old and stale and dusty and there were only a few normal-sized spacecrafts left, but they were all locked. He wasn't aiming for one of those. His footsteps pounded against the cement as he went for the bike rack on the far left wall. All the hoverbikes were there and accounted for.

But not for long. Using the handheld laptop he snuck from the control room, he unlocked the bike rack and extracted the first one in the row. It looked similar to a motorcycle, only there were no wheels and there was plenty of seat space and a box attached at the back to hold items. He activated the bike. Its small, front monitor between the handles lit to life and the bike lifted from the ground. Lucas pushed it outside, still holding the mini laptop and pokéball.

Once outside, he swung his leg over the seat and placed his backpack into the box. He secured the laptop onto the stand under the monitor between the handles and searched. He located Serena somewhere in the wilderness near the peninsula off of Fallarbor town. It would be a long ride from here, he could tell.

He set the hover bike on turbo and revved the engine. He blasted through the steamy weather and never looked back at the Mossdeep Research Facility and its sick, twisted leader—the father of his own leader, who he prayed would never end up as.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 16, 2:20-ish PM<strong>

Olivier considered himself a "man of the people"—a dictator who rubbed elbows with the commoners, kissed the babies, and funded schools to win over the general public. In doing so, he prided himself in knowing as little about Earth as possible. _Earth _was a vocabulary term permanently erased from the Webster's dictionary. The public was kept quiet about it so there would be no envy or hope of emigrating. Olivier kept it from himself so he wouldn't be urged to try to find his way back there.

Information on _Earth _was accessible to a very small group of officials in the entire country, and Olivier was inescapably one of them. In the first few years of office, he was educated on its world history. He had effectively evaded all but two hours of the class, where he learned of the cave men and infant civilizations. He had been a fool and was caught by the concept of early age humans. But that had been almost a decade ago, so it was hard to recall what exactly he learned.

But _Irene_, that wild, random teenager, had spurred memories from Earth. The fact that she had actually _visited _the planet when it was prohibited was an outrage. He should have arrested her for even stepping foot on sacred soil, but there was no specific outline in the Constitution about space travel out of Marrion...only because citizens who had access to the Constitution would understand the implications that there _was _life beyond Marrion.

After sending her off, he had secret service going back after her. Now she was being forced into his tennis court with two burly men and a stretching Dragonair behind her. The others playing in the room had to be ushered out and Olivier had to put down his racket. Irene had a disheveled expression, assuming that her ride back to the city had been anything but peaceful.

"What was your name again?" Olivier asked, coming forward. A person came from behind and placed a folding chair down so he could sit. Irene found it very hard to take him seriously in Bermuda shorts.

"My name is Irene Connor!" she huffed as she pulled her ID out of her pocket. She waved it in Olivier's face, and he took it to examine it. "I have special access to Earth knowledge! I also have _serious _reports that need your decisions to act upon!"

"You're only fifteen years old." Olivier said, sounding like a mixture of astonishment and admiration that had Irene smiling bashfully. "Special access like this isn't granted to a _child_."

"I'm not a child," She protested behind her teeth. "and I was born on _Earth_."

"Impossible. Blumans do not have access to Earth." Olivier said. "Any projects of those would be highly classified information that even _I _have not heard of."

Irene kept quiet. She heard from Kai that Olivier was simply a puppet of a dictator. The ones pulling the strings weren't even in existence to Olivier's radar because they lived underground and constructed wormhole-sustaining spacecrafts.

Olivier was quick to suspicion. "You know something that I don't." He stated.

"I was born on Earth." She repeated softly. "It was an underground project. Bluman children were implanted to human foster parents on Earth. The Bluman children would then report everything from their observations and share it with the underground project. Those people who filed the reports would duplicate the observations and sell the blueprints to the highest bidders." Her tale was only made more believable by her surprisingly steady tone and stone brown eyes. "That is why Krude has pokémon centers, washing machines, and many, _many_ more..." She looked back up at Olivier. "The blueprints that the original Blumans had had been lost and outdated. Everything technological that runs in our country was stolen from Earth."

Olivier was silent and contemplating during the entire spiel. He found it unlikely that there were underground operations running without his knowledge. However, there were _some _things that the previous dictator had not fully explained before he retired...Olivier pulled out his cellphone and began dialing, but his finger froze over the display. What if this phone in his hand was a similar version to one on _modern_ Earth?

"Dial me Colonel Birowitz," Olivier said, tossing his phone to the security man on the left. "I want to know what the hell—"

_The whistle of a plane coming closer and closer, heart pulled backwards—_

_sh—CRASHHH!_

A powerful collision noise coming from the southern part of the building had the whole room jumping and shifting. The sound was followed by glass shattering and much less audible crashes, but nevertheless it shocked almost everyone in the room with a ghostly white, spooked expression.

"What was—" Olivier started,

Irene gasped and started running for the hallway. "A ship has crashed into the side of the building!"

"Ships can't fly!" Olivier yelled.

Irene called over her shoulder, "_Space_ship!".

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 5AM<strong>

Sleeping under a canopy of trees was portrayed a lot more comfortably on the holovision. Serena found that sleeping on the cold, sharp, dirty forest floor was as comfortable as sleeping on a bed of rocks. It was hardy and itchy and she had nothing to sleep with. All she had was the clothes on her back and a big tree root jutting from the ground. She eventually remembered that she had a few pokéballs on her and used her Jigglypuff as a leathery pillow and her Natu as a night guard.

It wasn't the 'Center, but it was something. She missed sleeping in a tent with a sleeping bag. Sure, she had only done it once during the entire trip, but it was easier than sleeping on the ground where the bugs could crawl. And constantly in the night, she heard the chilling sounds of rustling bushes and animals breathing. There could be anything out here. There could be snakes or prowling wild cats and their sharp claws. Exhaustion was the only sleeping pill that could settle her.

In a few hours' time, Natu had called through the forest and recruited Swablus. A flock of seven was sleeping against Serena the rest of the night. Their cotton wings were warm and comforting and she almost forgot that she was on the floor on top of grass and recently squashed, ABC gum.

By five in the morning the birds had left and were softly chattering. Something was shaking her to rouse her awake.

"Stop it Natu...stop..." Serena muttered, squinting her eyes shut.

"Shh, shh." Said the voice. Her thoughts awoke at once. Her pokémon could not speak. She shot up, waking Jigglypuff, and smacking her forehead right into her awaker.

"OW!"

"_CRAP_! Yow, Serena!" She could tell immediately that it was Lucas's wail. Her eyes opened to a dim dawn morning where Lucas was holding his throbbing skull and carrying a backpack on his shoulder, a quarter zipped open at the top. Behind him, against a tree, was a hoverbike with a Pachirisu napping on the seat.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, more surprised than angry. "How did you find me? How did you leave the lab? How did you—"

"If you expect me to answer those, at least eat something first." He said, pulling a silver-wrapped sealed package from his backpack. "I have a water bottle and an egg sandwich, but I didn't bring a microwave to heat it."

She smiled thankfully and took both items. "That's fine. I think I can..." she trailed off, leaning back to concentration. She gripped the icy sealed pack containing an egg sandwich and let out a long breath. The pack crumpled tightly around the sandwich, sucking out the air, and then finally, the cold. Serena dropped the package.

Lucas felt it. It was warm.

"You can _do _that?" He asked incredulously. He was amazed by the wide range of uses of Serena's powers.

She shrugged unsurely and ripped open the package, then took the circular sandwich and tore it in half to share with Lucas. They nibbled on their breakfast rather quietly and peacefully, only glancing up to look at the trees and forestry or the occasional Seedot that would pop from the tree branches to spy on them. Lucas swallowed the rest of his and sighed.

"Okay, so this is what happened." He said. Serena looked up from her sandwich and nodded for him to continue. "I got tired of being in that stupid laboratory. I'm tired of you being Mr. Bay's puppet, too. So I left and used a small laptop to track you."

"That's not enough." She whispered. "Mr. Bay has control of me. He has switches in me that I can't even dream to touch." She looked at her shoes forlornly. "Eventually he will kill me with the press of a button."

Lucas smiled and shook his head. "I found a way around that."

"Impossible." She deadpanned.

"I have a laptop that's connected to the supercomputer." He said, ignoring her comment. "I can uninstall the program controlling your nanobots. I can shut them off and delete all the files. I can completely remove the robotic restraints he has on you."

The plan sounded ridiculous and only a dream, but Serena was intrigued by the possibility of being physically _free _of Mr. Bay. "What if there are backup files?" She asked.

"Mr. Bay has shown me all of your nanobot files, including the backups." Lucas replied, getting up momentarily to retrieve the laptop sitting in his hoverbike. "It'll only take me a few minutes to sweep it all off the hard drive."

She remained skeptical. "What if...what if it hurts me?"

Lucas groaned. Must she bring up every side effect? "How about this—I shut them all off, _then _delete the programs. Then it's harmless and your body will get used to it. How about that?"

"What if I lose my powers?"

He grimaced. The look in her eyes was naïve and frightened. The sun was rising all the while, making the liquid glazing over her eyes glisten. Would she cry if she lost such a major part of her?

"It's the only way." He finally said.

She held the remains of her sandwich, staring at it contemplatively, then stuffed the rest into her mouth. She nodded, giving him the go. He quickly went to work. Serena lied back down on her Jigglypuff, feeling its short hair and the rise and fall of its stomach as it breathed.

"This might hurt." He whispered. She took the free hand of his that lay idle on the ground. He pressed the key. Serena immediately felt a pinch and she winced, her grip tightening on Lucas's hand. She could feel things flowing through her. More pinches, then a release of stress. Slowly, the pain faded, but there was a tickling sensation almost everywhere. She could hardly feel her hand holding Lucas's.

Lucas tightened his hold on Serena's hand. She had gotten cold fast. Her face was paling, like her blood was draining. He tried bringing the water bottle to her lips, but she did not feel it or make a move to drink it. Her eyes stared up lifelessly.

"_Serena_," he whispered, squeezing her hand, "Serena, are you okay?"

She made irritated choking sounds. He used two hands to hold her own.

"Breathe Serena! _Breathe_!" He shouted now. Did she really rely on nanobots so much? Did she rely on them to utilize her everyday functions like breathing, or smelling and seeing and hearing? Her hand was losing muscle grip. He was losing _her_. "_Serena_!"

...

All at once, she gasped, her eyes blinked awake and as bright as ever, her arms and legs jolted as if shocked by God's touch, and her fingers constricted Lucas's palm. She sat up and put her hand to her chest, breathing deeply. Lucas paused everything. On his screens, he could not track Serena anymore. He couldn't monitor her levels. Her nanobots were completely off.

The first tear slid down her left eye, the one not facing Lucas. She wiped it and took another big breath of air.

"Are you alright?" He asked again, looking closer to her face. Color was returning.

"Everything shut down for a moment." She said softly, shutting her eyes. "My hearing was decreasing. The colors were greying and the sky became the sun. Everything was soft. I saw...I think I saw a shining cloud, and the outline of wings and giant hands coming closer. I think..." She opened her eyes again, and though she hated it, she was tearing up. "I think I just died...and came back to life."

"Don't start saying that crap." He muttered, forcing his eyes down to the keys of the laptop. "I don't want to think what would've happened if I lost you."

She laughed, only because it sounded like the dramatic dialogue of those sappy sitcoms Paru always watches. She turned to Lucas. "Delete all the files." She said hurriedly, motioning him with her hands. "It won't be long until Mr. Bay notices. He sleeps with a gun and a wireless mouse under his pillow."

Lucas chuckled and leaned back a little. "Honestly, I'm not that surprised."

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 6:20AM<strong>

The control room of the emergency ship was in full view of the main deck. Because it was a small ship, there were only two decks—the very small, compacted control room, and the lower deck that was as wide as the rest of the ship, right above the engine and fuel tanks. There were only two bathrooms, so the group that had climbed in with Megan, Darryl, and Ross had to share almost everything. Almost everyone was still asleep on pull out mats and blankets on the floor of the lower deck.

Ross's Joltik slept in the tangled strands of her long hair that was now un-bunned. While sleeping on her side, one of Ross's hands sat aimlessly on her stomach. She awoke slowly, stretching as she ascended. Joltik stuck inside her hair like a monkey swinging on vines. She pulled the blanket over her and walked up the steps of the open area to the open control room. Megan was resting with her head on her arms and Darryl continued to steer with slight bags under his eyes.

"What time is it?" Ross mumbled, claiming the swivel chair between Darryl and Megan. Darryl consulted the digital time piece at the bottom of the windshield.

"Six twenty." He said. Both their attentions turned to the styler in Megan's pockets that had begun beeping. This had woken her and she instinctively reached for it and flipped the screen open.

Megan's half-lidded eyes shot open in surprise. "_No. _Oh my God! Yes!"

"I am not sure whether to be relieved or concerned..." muttered Ross.

"Hehehe, I know right? Girl, talk!" Darryl said, although he was careful to use his library voice since it was very easy for his voice to bounce downstairs where the others were.

"Lucas—Lucas..." Megan forced herself awake, snapping her fingers in front of her, but it was difficult without a shot of espresso. "I caught his PokéGear! I picked up his signal! Stop this ship!"

"We can't stop at 400 miles an hour!" Darryl wailed, working on slowing down.

Megan gasped, standing. "We just passed him! Turn around!"

"Hold on!" Darryl pulled the break. Ross's chair scrambled into the dashboard and Megan lurched forward, right into Ross. Megan apologized and reoriented herself on her feet, though she stumbled. She went to the guardrail to check downstairs. Only a few people had felt it and had woken. She assured them that everything was fine. Darryl called her back and showed her a magnified look of the forest ground. She could see a pack of Zangoose the size of pins.

"Turn the ship around, we might spot him. He has blue hair! It's impossible to miss him." Megan said, looking between her styler and the map. Her eyes scoured it as the feed continued to roam the forest floor. It was going almost too fast for her to search. They were above the blinking dot of his 'Gear. "Stop!" She said.

The three stared at the map as it took up the entire screen of the windshield. The treetops were obscuring almost everything but the path.

"Is there a way we see past these trees?" Megan asked.

Darryl shrugged. "With an x-ray vision, sure. I doubt this ship has an x-ray setting though."

"Get in closer." Ross said. "Careful not to disturb the native pokémon."

"Getting closer won't solve anything..." Darryl muttered, typing in commands. Megan searched the dashboard for settings, but could not find one to change the display of the map grid. Ross stared inquisitively at the screen and turned her head to the side.

"Is the windshield touch screen?" Ross inquired.

"The question is what _isn't_." Darryl replied sarcastically. "You're getting your finger prints everywhere!" Impulsively he ran the his shirttail over the dashboard to clean it, but that clicked other windows which had popped up. Ross reached up to close them all. She touched the map and tapped the screen. It changed from satellite view to map view, to infrared view, to finally a satellite view of black and white and transparent trees.

"That's it!" Megan said, pushing back Ross's hand to prevent her from toddling with the settings again. Megan squinted at the map. She counted boundless amounts of pokémon that hid in bushes, trees, logs, caves, and in rivers. She saw three bodies, but only two were moving and they were distanced from the stationary one. Megan zoomed in on the two moving bodies and changed to satellite view.

It was Lucas and Serena.

"Abduct, abduct, abduct!" Megan shouted in Darryl's ear, pushing his shoulders so much that his top hat fell off. Ross giggled and span her chair.

Darryl chuckled. "You're starting to sound like the aliens that had abducted _us_."

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 6:23AM<strong>

A spaceship was looming overhead. The wind currents whipped wickedly, blowing back trees and wild Swablus and Lucas and Serena's hair. The two peered up at the ship, immediately recognizing it as a Krude ship due to its triangular design. The two scattered to the trees to get out of sight of the ship.

"Can they see us?" Lucas asked, eyes wide with fear. This was his first encounter with the aliens, since he had not been there during the invasion two days ago. He had been in the safety of the Mossdeep laboratory since then, and seeing a foreign spaceship only made him remember how _real _this was.

"We need to hide!" Serena whispered. "If we try to fly they'll only outrun us and abduct us!"

"You should destroy their ship!" Lucas said instead. "One less to deal with!"

"What if there are children in there?" She hissed back. "That ship is smaller than the others that I destroyed!"

The ship shot a searchlight that hit the tall grass and fled around like a flashlight. A Seedot jumped from the trees and chased it with curiosity. Lucas hastily held onto his hoverbike in case he needed to make a speedy retreat. Lucas pointed with his eyes at the big scary spaceship. Serena huffed and ran deeper into trees. Lucas tried to watch after her, but after a swerve through two trees she became a grey blur that launched into the sky.

"Pachirisu!" He whispered, returning to his hoverbike. The mouse blinked awake and sat up to attention. Its fluffy tail thumped in interest as its trainer pointed to the mini laptop in his hand and explained how he would be tracked by it. He turned around and threw it into the tree. With a sickening _crack! _the two halves broke apart. He ordered Pachirisu to use Hyper Fang on it to trash the remains.

Serena soared upwards to gain an aerial advantage on the ship. She knew she was visible now and revved the ice in her fingers. She was worried that the shutting of her nanobots would cause a disturbance in how she controlled her powers, but everything was fine. The only thing she found strange was that the ice was harder to keep together and even in the heat, she was _really _cold.

She never felt a shiver till it echoed up her spine.

She flew directly over the ship, unable to see the forest floor now, and spread her palms wide, a streak of icicles sloppily fell towards the roof, but merrily smashed upon the surface. Serena scowled and moved over to the windshield.

_Why aren't they attacking?_

And Ice Beam slipped out of her palm and she gasped, unable to stop it. She could _see _through the glass. It was _Megan_, who looked tired and weary and confused to why Serena would attack her. Serena tried forcing her hand away from the ship but her power had a mind of its own, and it pulled her around, glazing the ground, up tree barks, and into the stomach of the ship. The metal gave a waning cry.

"Lucas!" Serena cried. The Ice Beam stopped coming from her palms and she dove for the ground—she was stuck in midair. Lucas exposed himself into the tractor beam that had captured Serena, along with his Pachirisu and motorbike. A bright yellow light flashed in their vision.

They were in a familiar looking beam-tube. A heavy pattering came from the steps from behind. It was Megan, still in her familiar golden ranger garb, only now that seeing her for the first time in two days of hell gave her the appearance of an angel with ethereal wings. With arms wide open she squeezed them tightly.

"I'm _sorry_, so so sorry." She whispered. Lucas and Serena swapped slightly relieved looks. They didn't mind that she was squeezing them to her chest. Lucas certainly did not. Megan refused to let them go. "I've been through so much since the invasion, looking for you kids...Dammit, I wish I knew what today was..."

Refraining from chuckling, Lucas muttered, "I believe it's Wednesday.".

* * *

><p><strong>Day 16, 2:30-ish PM<strong>

The wreckage was surreal. The entire east wing collapsed from the weight of Irene's spaceship and had burst several pipes, leaking water and vapor. The spaceship proved durable as it had very little scratches from the impact when Daniel and James relinquished themselves on the catwalk, arms raised above their heads in surrender. Pita did this in a similar fashion behind them.

Irene spared them.

"I know them!" She said, halting the service guards with her outstretched arm. "Please don't arrest them!"

Olivier caught up with her. The first thing he noticed was the gigantic crumbling hole in the wall and the fallen columns, and the obvious reactions of the public from outside. When he saw Daniel and James and their imperfectly not-blue skin, his legs became paralyzed with stringent disbelief.

Irene had run up the catwalk and spread her arms out in a symbolic way to say she was protecting her friends. "Mr. Olivier, the time for action is _now_! You have to believe me on my Earth reports!"

Olivier was able to recover from mild shock with a sophisticated throat clearing. "Very well. I will hear what you have to say..._after _the wall is repaired. Someone get that spaceship out of here! Reassure the public that it was merrily an accident by student drivers!" As he spoke, he was climbing the catwalk, eyeing a jumpy James rather intimidatingly. James felt as if Olivier was directly speaking to him. "And put these..._people _under custody in my office. _Someone _has to pay for these damages."

James laughed behind his lips nervously. "I uh...missed the pole."

Daniel spoke for the first time, still behind Irene. "No, you landed it...Considering the capital was the pole."

Irene turned harshly to glare at them. "Will you two _hush up_! The dictator is _right there_!"

"...Oh." Daniel whistled innocently.

"_Dictator_? That's so cool!" James, ever the genius but rarely socially, disregarded Irene's physical block and wound around her to reach Olivier. He was as spunky as an obsessed fan. James waved to Olivier as a sign of hello. Olivier was frightened by the sudden friendliness of a person so...different.

"Don't come near me." Olivier stated as he began walking backwards down the catwalk.

James followed. "You're so _cool_! Leader of a country! _The _country that is invading _my _country! So cool!" He exclaimed. Every time he closed the gap to Olivier, Olivier would stumble back even faster. Olivier bumped right into his guards and James was still raised on the catwalk by two feet, still yacking incessantly about his adventures with the Blumans. "I like you Blumans! But, I don't like having the end of a gun pointed in my direction, and I don't like being governed by beings who like to arrive invasion style. Could you kindly _remove _yourself from Earth?"

James had managed to blab Irene's whole argument in one explosive speech that had Olivier cowering into the recently primped suits of the guards. Olivier understood every word. Everything about James screamed _Earth_, starting with that earthly smell of his.

"I understand...but I don't understand." Olivier said. "I don't have troops on Earth...I have no idea where that is either."

Daniel strode down the catwalk with a hopping Pita and irritated Irene walking from behind.

"Allow me to enlighten you." He said. The Blumans had given he and James room to stand on the floor. "There's a little creep named Kai who decided that he wanted to take back what he thinks is rightfully in the ownership of the Blumans. The thing is, sir, _Blumans _are merrily colored humans. That would mean you and I, we're no different. Earth belongs to no one." He smiled sincerely. "You don't need to invade Earth to return, sir. We welcome you with open arms."

Daniel demonstrated by opening his arms for a hug. James copied. Olivier stood there awkwardly, unsure if he should hug them.

"...O—okay." Olivier said, and came closer with open arms. The three shared a group hug that was so awkward that Irene's bottled cough only made it even more laughable.

"Actually Mr. Daniel...Kai is dead." Irene said. Her face showed no grief to it, but she had always been a master of controlling her facial emotions around others. Or perhaps his untimely death had caused her to be this grave.

"Then who is commanding what is left of Krude on Earth?" Olivier asked, pulling away.

"So you _do _believe that Kai took an army to Earth without your permission?"

Olivier nodded. "Yeah...I just got a text from Colonel Birowitz." He shrugged. "We've got a bone to pick with the Putuptupians now. I never thought that I'd have to deal with them...but...they're threatening to smash long-standing ideals on other planets. I won't stand for it."

"Thank you!" Daniel said, relieved that _someone _blue was finally on his and Earth's side.

Olivier turned to Daniel. "And _you _and your horde of humans will help me."

Earth's only adult representative to the Krude Bluman race, Daniel, could only respond with a jaw drop and, "_What_!".

* * *

><p><strong>Day 16, 2:30-ish PMDay 17, 6:30-ish AM**, around same time that Serena and Lucas reunite with Megan

_It was at that next moment that all the wide arced glass-less windows decided to shoot of a blue light. The lights came from the headlights of a spaceship._

_"_Told_ you!" Ashka said, smirking._

_But it didn't matter, because the abduction beam zapped through the windows and sucked every bit of life out of the room, leaving only a spinning plate as a reminder that they were having brunch, not a debate._

Everyone's particles reassessed a moment later on the wide spread of a tractor pad. Ashka, Gerard, Lexi, and Paru settled to this familiar orientation quickly and were fast to turn their heads to a dazed Princess Janova and her mother. The queen however wasn't dazed at all and had quickly grown accustomed to where they were.

"Queen Everie, what shall we do with them?" An attendant in a neutral cross between Krude and Putuptupian style came forward with a heavy tube-like pistol in hand.

"Where—" Lexi started,

"Freeze them!" Everie shouted, and jumped off the tractor pad. The attendant whipped the tube-object at them, looping a shimmering light in a corral-like manner around them. Lexi smacked right into the forcefield, causing it to ripple with a _wowm _in the spot she hit. Ashka stepped forward and tried pushing at it, but it was as futile as pushing through a glass box. Janova had it worse. With all this unfamiliar technology around her, she had fainted. No one really cared, though, and let her lie on the ground.

"What the hell!" Ashka shouted.

"How did I _know _she would say that..." Paru said contemplatively.

"Is Queen Everie from Krude?" Gerard wondered aloud.

"I knew there was a villain in all of this!" Lexi shouted triumphantly. In a fleeting moment she realized that there would be _no _winner here, causing her triumphant grin to wane.

"Villain?" Everie said with a dramatic smirk, placing her hand on her chest as if asking, _who, me?_. "Oh silly, adolescent earth child, the only villain here is _you_."

Ashka and Lexi both glowered. Paru and Gerard were more confused to what she meant.

"Villains lie and cheat to get to the top!" Lexi shouted. "You lied like hell about _this _ship! I bet you have more! I bet you have an army!"

"I bet you're no different than Krude." Ashka said stiffly.

The comment cracked Everie's shield, but she maintained composure with a quick glance to her Bluman attendants. "No, friends...Humans who hog the Earth are the enemy. We Putuptupians dream of returning to Earth to share the knowledge we have acquired from years apart. Yet, when our ancestors visited your planet by a mere 200 years ago, you _shooed _us away."

"Where have I heard this before?" Paru muttered. "Mr. Daniel was muttering..." but before he could finish, Everie continued her monologue.

"Our probe ship returned from Earth with two wounded Putuptupians. Henceforth, a program was created to implant baby Blumans into human families so we can innovate their secrets and sell it to those pompous Krudes across the lake..."

Something clicked in Gerard's head. His thoughts went directly to Irene.

"You know what? I don't really give a damn." Ashka said as she pulled a pokéball from her pocket. Everie glared. "If you don't get me out of here, I'll _bust_ out!"

"Yeah!" Lexi said, pulling a pokéball from her own belt.

Everie scoffed. "I'd like to see you tear through a brick with your finger."

The girls took the challenge and opened the pokéballs, as there was no throwing distance—the pokéballs didn't open. Lexi whined and continued pressing the center button to no avail. Ashka tried different pokéballs but they were _stuck_.

"This lasso must be blocking the transmitters." Gerard muttered, tapping the force field encasing them again.

"Pokéballs don't have transmitters!" Ashka said hysterically.

"I'm getting bored. I'll just sit with ye royal three arms..." Paru muttered, taking a seat on the floor next to Janova's feet.

Lexi sent him a look of distress. "Don't just sit there! We need to free ourselves from this ship!"

"I'm just thinking realistically!" He retorted. "We're stuck in a spaceship at the mercy of a God forsaken alien queen! Even if we did get out, we'd fall thousands of feet into the ground! _Splattered _on a dirt path somewhere!"

"Listen to your boyfriend." Queen Everie said with a smirk as she turned around to the windshield. "You could learn a thing or two from him."

"He's not my boyfriend." Lexi grumbled.

"Yeah, she has _two_ other guys in the running for that title." Ashka muttered aside to Gerard.

"_Hey_!" shrieked a flustered Lexi.

"Oh, BOO-HOO, I'm Lexi! I'm torn between three cute boys and I can't decide! The world apocalypse can wait until I figure out my crushhhh!" Ashka garbled, tossing her arms around mockingly.

"Ashka..." Gerard queued her to calm down with an elbow nudge, seeing as Lexi was turning an embarrassing shade of red with her lips suckered into an angry pout.

"Wait, who are the other two guys?" Paru wondered.

Ashka rolled her eyes. "Lucas and James, _duhh_. She's torn between a couch potato, a debauchee Facebook-addict, and a bizarre nerd with a head shaped like a T-Rex."

"My life is not a soap opera!" Lexi shot back.

"Thanks for taking the topic off '_we're stuck in a bubble!_', guys." Gerard muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:30 AM<strong>

"Ms. Megan..." a frightened, small voice starts from the bottom of the staircase. "What's going to happen to us?"

Megan looked down the steps to Lucas who looked genuinely confused and out of it. She had told him and Serena to take a rest as they navigated the seas but Lucas hadn't even shut his eyes before he had these tantalizing thoughts. He couldn't bare think of how the Pups were treating his family or how the TV shows were still running or what could _possibly _happen to the internet if the pups were to disable it. And also, was it _possible_?

She grinded her teeth together as she thought of an answer. She truly didn't know herself. "I wish I knew, Lucas." She said. He began climbing the steps to get closer, just for protection. She said, "In the situation we're in right now, dropping you off back home would be the worst idea. I know you want to see if your family has made it in all of this, but it's impossible to call anyone with the Pups so close to the communication lines. When we get to the Americas we'll be safe...I hope."

"How do you know?" Lucas shot back when he reached the top stair. "What are those damn Americans going to do, huh? The Oceania president is gone and the army is unheard of! All the other damn countries like Germany and Russia are just sitting back while we crumble to their fingers! You know what the Americans are? _Selfish_ bastards!" He shouted. "They only step in when _they _are threatened! What a bunch of cheap-ass HEROES!"

"Lucas, calm down." Megan said flatly. "I know you're angry, but every country has its reasons. You should be happy that they're welcoming to refugees of this confusing alien matter."

"This is crap!" Lucas groaned, and walked across her to the staircase going down. Megan shook her head. She couldn't keep Lucas at ease when all these terrible political issues had been coming up in a matter of hours. In the lab he was secluded, and seeing Serena's state only brought him back to the uncushy reality that in the real world, it was every man for himself.

Megan wheeled her chair back to Darryl who had taken to snoozing while at the dashboard. She tapped him awake. "How much longer until we start seeing land?" She asked.

He blinked groggily and fingered the dashboard. Instead of bringing up the map, he brought up the internet. The page opened to the Yahoo! browser and all the news stories that were usually piled onto the right sidebar were plain of anything timely of the Bluman events. The Pups had already disfigured the one thing Lucas had always loved—the internet.

Darryl closed the browser and opened the map. "Eh...8 hours, more or less."

"_Seriously_? I thought we were going 400 miles an hour!"

"We're in _Oceania_. What do you expect? We haven't even reached Hawaii yet!"

"Can we? The ash storms are wonderful." Said Ross from the right section of the dashboard.

Ignoring her, Megan said, "I'm surprised we haven't ran into anything in the hour we've been flying. Are we even out of Hoenn yet?"

Darryl groaned. "Jinx!"

"What are you..."

Darryl brought up the radar and gestured to the army of dots coming from the bottom of the screen. They were gaining speed and catching up. The emergency ship was not as powerful as the bigger spaceships that were coming after them, and in almost three minutes, Darryl caught sight of the first missile in the rearview mirror.

"Everyone hold on!" He shouted, taking reign to the steering rod.

Around the same time Serena was climbing the left staircase saying, "Ms. Megan?—"

The ship made a steep incline upwards, knocking everyone backwards. Serena fell down the staircase, lucky to not hit her head on every step down. Those in sleeping bags on the floor were shifted towards the back. Megan was slipping and had to hang by a bar in the ceiling. Lucas wailed that his fingers were slipping.

"I'll try to lose them!" Darryl said.

"No loop-D-loops!" Megan shouted, sounding like she had to barf.

"You can't be picky!" He replied in a sing-song voice. _PEW! PEW! _Laser orbs sparked past the ship, barely grazing the triangular wings. Darryl had them nosing downwards, rolling everyone in the opposite direction as before. In the dashboard they saw about ten big ships and three smaller ships on their rear, all triangular but definitely the color of Pup ships.

"Hit them back! You gotta hit them back!" Lucas said.

"Our ship does not contain weapons." Ross said flatly. "However, we can use Serena to—"

"No!" Megan interrupted. "We are _not _sacrificing Serena to those blasted ships!"

"But Ms. Megan, I can do it!" Serena protested as she tried to climb up the staircase again. The ship jerked to the left, smacking Serena to the other side of the stair. "...I can shoot them Ms. Megan, just put me on the sky deck!"

"We're not risking anything!" Megan said. They could tell it was her final decision and did not argue on it anymore—the ship rocked violently like an earthquake had struck it, and everyone shot her a look, but she merrily glared back at them and shook her head again.

"We're hit!" Darryl said, referring to the last shake. "They got our right side!"

_BOOM! _Heat was guzzling from the floor.

"They blew up a gas tank!" He cried.

"Who puts a gas tank on the outside of a ship?" wondered Ross.

"We're going to run out of fuel!" Darryl said, looking back to Megan who seemed to have strategy down pack.

"Keep driving! I'll send my Flygon!" Megan said, and passed Serena to get to the second flight of stairs.

"Your Flygon might not survive the air pressure!" Ross called after her.

"No other choice!" Megan replied. Serena and Lucas followed her to the bottom deck where the glass observatory deck was. Luckily for them it was at the bottom at the very front of the ship facing backwards so none of the lasers had broken any of the windows yet, but it was very clear now to see the flames and smoke of the gas tank that had exploded on the left side. The bigger ships were miles behind sending faster fighter pilots, but now they were seeing smaller, animal-like shapes wearing pressure masks and jet packs coming for them.

"You're going to send a _pokémon_ out there?" Lucas said, staying close to the door to the hallway whereas the other two stepped to the middle of the empty room. "What the fudge _are _those things! They look like rocks with dresses!"

The pokémon going after them were a cross between a Gothitelle and Pineco. It was the general height and shape of a fully evolved Gothitelle, except its black dress and headdress was made of the chunky, scaly blue material found on Pinecos. The pokémon used Psychic to propel themselves faster, soaring like bullets towards them—Megan and Serena took cover in the back closet—the Gotheco's scattered, two going left, two going right, two going up, and one continuing forward towards the observatory. Lucas shrieked and forced himself to the hallway and shut the door—

_BA-OOM! _Glass shattered and tinkled on the other side of the door, followed by six other bombing sounds of the Gotheco's using Explosion on different parts of the ship. Lucas tried opening the door but vacuum pressure kept it from opening more than a crack.

Serena and Megan were trying in vain to keep the closet doors shut. Pressure endlessly tried to pry the doors open to suck the two out the observatory. They had seen through the crack in the door that there was a jagged, gaping hole in the observatory looking glass and the pokémon that had exploded had not left any remains. If it had, it had already been sucked out of the hole.

The ship began to splutter from the damages it took from the explosions, and Megan could feel her stomach dropping as the ship descended. She could see another set of Gotheco's spewing from the enemy ships. Six more explosions could sink them the rest of the way down.

"M-Ms. Megan, w—w—we need—" Serena couldn't get a sentence out. She squeezed her eyes shut and her teeth were chattering together. It wasn't the atmosphere wasn't cold due to the heat from the explosions but Megan could feel Serena radiating cold like an opened fridge. Serena became so weak that she couldn't hold the door together anymore, and Megan had to take over the abandoned side. Without their combined strengths, vacuum pressure was winning.

"Serena, what's wrong?" Megan shouted over the whistle of air. She thought it was just their luck that Serena was faltering in a situation like this.

"I—I— can't...It's so cold...!" Serena gasped, hugging herself with her arms as she hit the ground loudly to sit. _Was it something to do with the nanobots?_, she wondered. She had started feeling a little chilly ever since she had tried to attack Megan's ship with an Ice Beam.

"I can't bring you upstairs with the glass open like that," Megan said, "You'd get sucked out!"

"I can shoot them!" Serena said, and just then six more explosions thundered at the top of the ship. The sound of metal rang and vibrated until finally they saw chunks start flying backwards. Megan looked helplessly at their situation and knew that they were soon going to be in the hands of the Pups. If only she could communicate with Darryl from here...

"Go, just go." Megan said, ready to release the door. "Hurry, fight! Be careful! If something happens to us, take care of yourself!"

Serena nodded, although she doubted she would be able to escape this dogfight with the expansive Pacific Ocean still under them. Megan took hold of a bar nearby and the door handle and released the other. The door slammed open, and with a sharp _snap! _it was pulled off its hinges and sucked out the wall. She took this moment when Serena was holding to the bar and prepping herself to remember that Lucas _could've _gotten sucked out the wall earlier. She hadn't heard him scream, so she prayed he was still alive and on the ship.

Megan blinked as the next second Serena's rocky wings erupted through the back of her shirt where slits had already been made from a previous time, denting the wall behind, and then Serena leapt forward at the mercy of the vacuum. She had avoided the jagged glass and was outside but still tumbling, unable to control the force of gravity. An ice beam zapped from both of her hands, shooting endlessly and sharply in random directions. She managed to zap a few fighter planes but it did nothing to their engines and she kept on tumbling backwards, right into the mouth of the larger support ships.

Meanwhile, Lucas had taken a detour to the bathroom amid all the explosions. Minutes later he fought his way back up the staircase to the dashboards. All the alarms were going off, signaling that they were in critical mode and most of the exterior metal was waning away. If one more explosion detonated on the rooftop, they would have a new sun roof sucking everyone towards the ceiling. Darryl had given up on steering and was trying to recover the holes in the metal while Ross had taken to reassuring the other passengers that everything would be fine.

"We need an R2-D2!" Lucas said once he got to the top of the staircase.

"Emergency ships weren't meant to be repaired," Darryl said. "We aren't equipped with robots."

"They're going to annihilate us!—" Lucas started—

A high-pitched waning sound blared over all the voices and noises of the ship, sounding like a rusty metal can being peeled back layer by layer while alarming _thud_s smacked into the thinning exterior. Then finally, almost unrealistically, all the sounds ceased. The only thing that could be heard now were the alarms and frantic whispers.

"...Did they give up?" Lucas asked.

Darryl shook his head and removed his hat. "I'm afraid it's the other way around." He looked up, breaking the tense moment with a crooked grin and the return of his squeaky tone. "They've got us in a tractor beam and they're sucking us in!"

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:45AM<strong>

The damaged ship had been locked to one of the bigger support ships and a squad of both droid and Bluman worked together to take hostage of all the humans on board the ship. All pokéballs were sealed shut so Megan, Darryl, and Ross could not leap to a rescue, even though at this height in point it was impossible for them to save themselves.

They surrendered.

The three and Lucas were separated from the others and were taken to a different deck upon the ship. They were taken to a mess hall and seated with Serena, who was constantly guarded with two men on both her sides. They were all aware of what she could do and she proved to not have given up without a fight, as her previous sentinels had been frozen solid with their noses smashed in. She didn't share that gruesome fact, however.

After the five were suspiciously fed and watched over by the guards, they were taken to another room. This one looked like a bedroom, only larger and with a second story above that was hallowed out in the middle of the floor so they were able to be watched from all upper angles. They were told to wait there.

"Don't you think this is a little weird?" Lucas asked.

Megan had become crabby during all this unexpected hospitality. She had expected all of them to have been jettisoned by now. "Shush. We're at their mercy now, and I'd like to stay alive as long as possible."

"I'm just saying, they separated us and fed us and now...they're giving us a place to stay..."

"We're marked as dangerous." Serena said. She knew she was labeled as the most dangerous of all. "They want to keep an eye on us, then do as they will."

"We are also marked as precious." Ross said, her hand absently touching her stomach. Megan scanned her and grimaced. Something was wrong here. Ross had supposedly been impregnated in less than 48 hours and she already had a slight baby bump. What the hell was going on here?

The doors behind them parted automatically. A man came through with a burly entourage behind him. When the five turned to see who it was, Megan and Serena had scoffed, Ross had shrugged, Darryl had picked his nose, and Lucas gasped in surprise. Lucas's gasp upturned to a smile.

"_Brett! _Oh my God, you're alright! What're you—" Megan stopped his babble by barring her arm in front of him before he could scramble forward to hug Brett. Lucas looked between the two groups confusedly. Brett was surrounded by guards to be hauled into this room, correct? Why was Megan looking so angry and defensive?

"What a surprise, _your highness._" Megan sneered. Lucas looked between them again and was sent with another wave of 'what the hell?'. He didn't understand why Megan was so angry and sarcastic or why Brett was just smirking...

"I thought she was taken care of." Brett muttered to his associates as he pointed to Serena. Serena backed up in case they would jump her. He was informed that Serena was a different person, but that posed no threat to his expressions. Lucas stepped forward and looked back and forth at the tension.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" He asked, and began stepping towards Brett. "What did they do to you, dude? What happened to your pokémon? Are you okay? Are you.." He stopped. It took a second of no recognition in Brett's eyes to realize this immediately. Lucas stepped backwards. "You aren't my cousin."

Brett's smirk withered to a smile. "Are you sure?"

Lucas shrugged. His theory had doubtful holes.

Brett's form was quick to morph into a tall, sleazy version of Kai. "How about now?" said the person as Kai. Lucas's eyes widened as did the others. The metamorphosis was fast and fluid and creepy as hell. The skin curled and flapped around bones that stretched and hairs changed color through shrink and growth. Kai transformed again, shrinking to the form of red eyed Sarah. Lucas took another shaky step backwards. Serena was confused. The person looked _just _like her.

"Where's the real Brett!" Lucas shouted, now back at the side of Megan.

Sarah morphed back to Brett. Brett put his hands behind his back. "The real Brett has been disposed of."

"..." Lucas thoughts were cut short.

"Lucas..." Serena called his name worriedly. He shook his head and reached to hold something, but his hand dropped.

"What do you want with us?" Megan said, cutting straight to the point. "We're just people! We can't do anything here!"

Brett's eyes flash. "Oh, how you lie. You stole ships, damaged our own, and someone smashed all of our supply hauls together. Like a _domino_." He stole a glance at Serena, who backed up another step. "You have a value on your head now...but aren't you missing someone?" He transformed into Daniel. The image was accurate, from the odd curve of his nose to the folds in his shorts. "Like me?" said the Daniel. Megan bit her tongue. Daniel then changed into Lexi, then Gerard, then Ashka and James and Jun and the rest of the other campers that had been scattered in the whole debacle.

"What are you trying to say?" Megan shot back. The image of Daniel had punched her in the chest. She missed his goofy nose so much right now.

"Rest, friends. The battle and bloodshed is yet to come." Brett said, and began leaving the room. No one trusted the evil look in his eyes. "When you all unite, you'll finally die. I'll make sure of it."

"As if." Serena scoffed under her breath.

Brett turned sharply at her voice, and Serena paused, hoping she hadn't been heard.

He turned and shook his head. "Cockroaches are easier to kill."

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 12:35PM<strong>

_There was paranormal activity crossing the sensor near their hiding gates. Amber ordered Imogen to do thorough checks of the cabins for headcount again and Sherry to go speak with the astroforce deputies to assure that they were still off the radar of the Putuptupians. Amber took her lightsaber from her belt and began tiptoeing to the edge of the cave, where water dripped from a previous freak rainstorm last night._

_Pacing around outside was a Lucario, one that now had stunted metal disks where spikes use to be. It paced dangerously, as its intentions were unclear. Amber was fine with having Lucario for lunch, but something in the back of her head wondered if she had met this Lucario before._

_She confronted it with a wild swing of her lightsaber. Lights collided. Lucario's auric bone was as strong as her solar powered weapon. She took another swing at its side but it intercepted. She turned her 'saber off and gave it another analysis. The Lucario did not continue attacking and dropped the bone, which disappeared in thin air. _

"_Do I know you?" She asked._

_The pokémon closed its eyes. The extra ears that hung from the back of its head began to rise. It put a paw forward at Amber, and she was forced to shut her eyes._

_She saw Ashka asleep in a spaceship. The vision zoomed out to show where the ship was located, and then further out until it seemed like the viewer was in space staring down at a planet. The view turned to the east, and though it was a slow movement, Amber saw that there were spaceships heading towards Marrion. The fact that they were going slow must've meant that they were going incredibly fast, only, they were so far away that every inch it seemed took a minute to accomplish._

_Lucario put down its paws and its ears dropped. It looked to Amber with a question in its eyes. It had been hurt by ill-natured release but still had a fixation to the trainer that had stayed by its side as an egg. It had went away to make itself stronger and returned as a Lucario, only it had been angry that Ashka did not care about the release anymore and had attacked. Lucario wished to repent, to return to the good graces of its ex-trainer. Could Amber help it?_

"_Come with me." She said, taking its paw. "When your trainer returns, I'll make sure you'll have a home. She's an idiot if she doesn't take you back a second time."_

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 6:30-ish AM on MarrionDay 17, 10:30-ish PM on Earth**

It was chilly when Paru woke on the floor of Queen Everie's battalion ship. Events of most of yesterday had dragged in his memory as a dull blur. They had been stuck in the bubble for the entire afternoon through night, doing nothing but laying there and staring at the ceiling. Princess Janova had been dropped off late into the night and locked in a tower under strict supervision so she wouldn't leak what she had seen. Queen Everie had not returned since Janova's locking and the teens were left under the supervision of a maintenance guy. He at least had had pity on them, and entertained them with video feeds he pulled onto the main screen.

Lexi was stirring awake on the far side of the bubble where her mat was lain. Maintenance guy had the decency of giving them something comfortable to sleep on. She sat up and reached inside her busheled hair to hold her neck as she swung the cricks out of it. "Good morning..." She muttered to Paru, who was just lying on his back with his arms under his head.

"'Sup." He said. His blue knit cap lied on top of his chest.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of this bubble?" She asked, dragging her mat closer to sit next to him.

He shrugged. All he could see of her now was her waterfall of curly hair. "I dunno. You could, if you asked to go to the bathroom."

"I was dreaming of that." She replied, laughing lightly. "I dreamed that I could walk out of the bubble. I went to the bathroom and let out my Serperior, and she had squeezed through the vents and destroyed the ship from the inside. Heh, but that's ridiculous, because she would've been detected the second the vent was open." Her eyes dimmed slightly from the thought of being defeated in an instant of revelation.

He nodded absently, even though her comment had been made seconds before and his response wasn't necessary anymore. He turned slightly to get a look at Ashka's hoodie that she was still wearing. But no matter what she tried to hide, he could see color. His entire lower half was blue, but he was successful in keeping it a secret since he wore long pants.

"Your hand is blue." He stated.

She scrambled to pull both her hands into the hoodie. She burned scarlet, the damage already done. "I—I don't know what happened, maybe it's the pollen, maybe I'm half alien, maybe—"

He paused her by pulling up the leg of his pants.

"—And you're undergoing change too. Oh, good." She gave a sigh of relief.

"What were you afraid of?" He asked, suspicion hidden in his voice. "We all know who you are. The color of your skin doesn't matter, blue or not."

"Funny," she scoffed bitterly, "You sure as hell didn't treat Jun that way."

He offered a rebuttal that was quickly defeated by a more conceited thought of his. The only reason he treated Jun that way was because he didn't particularly _like _Jun in the way he liked Lexi. Besides, Jun had been revealed an alien way before they had reached the planet, so it was a slightly different case because Lexi wasn't an original alien. Also, no one really liked Jun. Paru just flowed with the judgments of others. Now he understood how cruel it was to alienate Jun just because he was different when, throughout the majority of the trip, he was as bit of a human as Lexi.

She gave him a look. Was silence going to be his only response?

"That's because I like _you_ more. I refuse to think you're evil." He finally answered. She turned her head away only so she could hide the shy smile and stifle the giggles that were inappropriate in their situation.

Suddenly the long monitor on the wall began beeping and maintenance guy, who had been asleep at the dashboard with a bucket and mop behind him, began flailing and staring at the screen and screaming, "Oh GOD it's yelling at me, what do I do what do I _do_!"

Ashka, whose mat had been angled away from Gerard as she slept, pulled her head up and shouted, "SHUT UP!...Answer the damn video call already!"

The screen clicked over to video chat. In the video box was a room with several people and droids still walking around off and on screen, and some seemed familiar but the maintenance guy had said, "PLEASE HOLD!" and pressed 'hold' before the teens could identify those on the screen.

"I think I saw someone with the same head shape as James." Ashka muttered, shifting her hair off her neck.

"_That_ makes you sure it's him?" Gerard said, pulling himself off the mat. Lexi scooted her mat in between the two and Paru so that she could talk between both of them.

"QUEEN EVERIEEEEE!" Shouted the maintenance guy.

"She's not going to hear you from here." Paru pointed out.

"Go find her!" Ashka snapped. The maintenance guy nodded frantically and scrambled out of the room through the left archway and down the decks to find her. Queen Everie had returned with guards on both sides of her. She only gave a glance to the teens, making them feel that she only saw them as flies on her golden windshield. Everie lightly tapped the screen, bringing the video chat back up.

A man with secret service agents on both sides appeared on the screen. Behind them droids continued to roll across the floor, weapons at the ready. James, Daniel, and Irene were standing in the background.

"It's James! Mr. Daniel! Oh, and Irene!" Lexi whispered, grinning brightly in relief. Paru took note that she had been the most excited at seeing James alive and well. Although this was certainly not the time and place, what did she see in Jamesthat _he_ didn't have?

"_Hey it's_—" The onscreen Daniel was cut off by a man stepping in the way of the webcam.

"_Queen Everie._" The man nodded, almost half bowing.

"Olivier." Everie acknowledge, barely letting his name drip from her mouth. "I believe this will be the last time we meet on the battlefield due to our ideals."

"_Earth is a vital culture that we Krudes wish to preserve. I will not have you ruining it with your Putuptupian traditions!_" He barked back. He then took another look at the surrounding area, and noticed Ashka, Gerard, Lexi, and Paru in the bubble. "_Oh—Earth children! You have some as well? You're a hypocrite to your people!"_

"All I've done is protected them from rotten influences." Everie replied dryly. Ashka wanted to knock the undeserved crown from her head for calling them rotten.

"_You've also deprived your people from progression! So how is it that you've contained the Earth children in an electrical sphere instead of metal cagings?"_

"You talk too much." Everie shrugged. "This Earth matter shall be decided."

"_Right after I personally extinguish every Pup from Oceania, it will!_" shouted Daniel, who had pushed his way onto the screen. Olivier and his men backed up to give him and James and Irene room.

"Who are _you_? Get off the screen imbecile."

"Don't call our scout leader an imbecile!" Paru called from behind.

"He's not our scout leader, he's our tour leader!" Lexi clarified.

"_You have my kids! I'm taking them back, get it Eevee!_" Daniel said, getting his nose up in it.

"_Queen Everie._ Call me by my correct title, sir." Everie replied. "Were you the village idiot back home?"

Daniel resisted baring his clenched teeth and backed up some to let James get a turn. James proceeded in getting too close to the camera that his forehead took up the entire screen.

"_Guys? Hey guys? Lexi! Gerard! Are you guys okay?" _He asked. Irene pulled him back to a normal distance.

"We're fine." Ashka said, a little bothered that he hadn't called her name.

"Don't shoot the ship while we're still in it!" Lexi said helplessly.

"_I'll save you, Ashka, Lexi, Gerard, Paru...Gosh, I'm so glad you guys are in one piece." _Daniel said. "_As for the others...I..._"

The video box rippled. Another party requested permission to join the chat. Both Everie and Olivier's people had come closer to the screen to solve the issue, but the controls had frozen and the chat became a three-way. A second box opened to the face of Brett, the one who had lead the Putuptupian invasion on Oceania and booted out the Krudes. What's more, Megan, Lucas, Serena, Ross, and Darryl were sitting on cots in the background.

A sharp second passed where Daniel and Megan's eyes met, where the physical dimensions of a webcam and screen did not impede the emotional connection the two shared just by staring at each other. With bare movements and head nods, they silently said, "I'm glad you're alright" and "I miss you".

"_Hey, we're all together on three separate ships_!" Lucas said idiotically from the background. "_Hi Irene! Hi Lexi! Wow! Wait—where's Jun?_" He was shushed by Brett.

"General! What are you doing?" Everie hissed at Brett, implying grave consequences for interrupting a serious conversation between she and her contender.

"_Good morning Queen Everie. I come with an army." _Said Brett, smirking ominously.

"Turn back around. You're needed on the other planet." She snapped. Ashka realized immediately that it was Queen Everie behind the Pup invasion. Could it be possible that she was Kai's superior as well? She had said that there were Blumans on Earth that were implanted from the Putuptupians—but then, why would Brett try and take over Kai's operations? Why did Kai claim to be from Krude? Why—

"_Actually, I'm needed on my home planet." _Brett said. "_To claim it as my own as it should be._"

"You're talking nonsense!" Everie shouted. Meanwhile, Olivier's box had been completely ignored. "If you don't turn around I'll..."

"_You'll what?" _Brett taunted. "_All you'll do is lose everything to me. I declare war on the Kingdom of Putuptup and the nation of Krude! The world will not be righted until we are a civilization of old tradition and new technology!" _His box closed. Everie immediately went into shouts of commands to track Brett's ship and shut everything down. Olivier stood awkwardly there.

"_This may be a 3-way battle, but the Krudes will still stand victor." _Olivier said. Everie told him to shut up and was about to press the end call button when James shouted,

"_Wait!...Hey Lexi, Paru, do you guys have cell bars over there?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:44 AM on Marrion<strong>

The plateaus and mountains between the east border of Krude and the west border of Putuptup served as informal battle grounds. The mountains peaked tall and into clouds, proving to be difficult for larger ships to maneuver around. From the west the bird pokémon were scattering and the land animals were running for cover as a robotic army marched in sync, guided by a tanker ship hanging in the sky above the trees, supplied with more droids in case the first few rows were obliterated.

From the east side, Queen Everie's battalion was miles away and hiding so that it could view the battle with ease without being part of the crossfire. Her army consisted of living pokémon, almost all of them winged and feisty for a fight. The first move was waiting to be made.

Olivier had ordered James and Daniel to be put on a compacted fighter plane. It was only big enough for one seat, only the seat was back-to-back so both were able to sit. They were put inside and strapped down, but neither could use the controls on the dashboard. With the cockpit glass already closed over them, the only thing they could do was wait in the hanger of the spaceship and watch everyone else speed off.

Irene was spared. Or rather, a fighter pilot had dropped her off far from where the blood and metal shed would take place. She was on a low rise prairie and could barely see the tiny ships zipping through the air. She tried using her 'Gear to contact Jun. Somewhere she knew that he was free, running somewhere with a blue rash because he didn't have any concealer on him. He wasn't on the video screen on the Everie's ship, and he wasn't with Olivier, so he must be somewhere!

_Where's MY ship? _She wondered.

Queen Everie's army of pokémon were the first to attack. They came in squads of fives and tens, flying in diamond shapes and V shapes. Unsuspecting planes were shot of the sky, barreling straight into the plateaus. The sharp sound of crashes pierced Irene's naïve ears as she was on the border of the action. More planes shot from the larger support ships hanging far back, but it was hard for them to navigate faster than a nimble pokémon. Soon though, one ship had impaled a pokémon with the sharp tip of its nose, causing the first animalistic cry. Robotic feet began their way through the empty grounds, simultaneously walking a shooting upwards. Pokémon dropped from the sky like rain. Yet more appeared, seeming as if Queen Everie had an endless amount of disposable pokémon.

Irene threw a pokéball, releasing her Murkrow, and yelled above the gunshots and murderous cries for it to fly above her and lead her to safety far from the explosions. Objects from above began to shadow her, and she made a mistake by looking up. She saw the familiar Pup ships and knew they were from Brett's forces. Brett could be in any of the ships, hiding her friends. They had arrived just on time for the action, and Irene wanted nothing to do with it. She spotted nowhere to hide either.

She ran into trees for cover.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:50 AM on Marrion<strong>

They were forced to watch the battle from the dashboard. Queen Everie was in a separate, smaller ship relaying commands to the pokémon soldiers who were forced to fight the mechanics of Krude's fighter planes and robots and Brett's mini-ships. It tortured Ashka to see missiles gut through pokémon and it pained Lexi to watch the helpless die. Gerard had turned away and Paru watched in interest. The fight was not going well on Everie's side, but it was rumored that she had a secret weapon. Ashka flipped the guards off and demanded that they be liberated.

Everyone except Paru had taken to wielding two pokéballs like dangerous weapons. Paru had already excepted their fate in the bubble, while the others were intent on escaping. Ashka had a hunch that with this battle occupying the guards, sooner or later someone will slip up and there will be a split second when the bubble frays. When that moment comes, she wants to be ready. Lexi and Gerard were quick to follow her example, and wielded the pokéballs of their strongest.

The guards were obnoxiously watching the show. Whether it had been a ship or a plane or even their own pokémon blowing up into pieces, they had uncorked the fizzy drinks and took shots for every blast. Maintenance man was not allowed to partake and instead, had taken in watching the bubble since everyone else was slacking.

Lexi shuddered as a pokémon that was close to the eye of the ship had been blown up right in front of her. Smoke had obscured most of excitement, but there was a split second where she saw two arms get ripped from its body, and it made her absolutely sick.

Gerard took to noticing how much she wanted to barf and came closer. "You alright?" He asked.

She wanted to be polite, but what she was watching and how the "men" were playing shots was just too much to tolerate. She shook her head and said, "I'm feeling lightheaded. I may need a sink."

Ashka turned her head to see Gerard holding Lexi's elbow, as if structuring that would help her stay standing. That shot jealousy into her, _someone else _getting closer to Gerard, her best friend...No, she forced those thoughts out of her head. It wasn't the time and place for this.

Then she remembered. They have to _lower _the bubble to let someone out, and these Neanderthals downing a mix of champagne-Grand Marnier wouldn't be able to stop them. _Hell, _why didn't she think of this earlier? They aren't as sober now, maybe that's why she was chock full of confidence.

"Lexi," she whispered, "If you have to go to the bathroom, _ask_." She said, and her eyes pointed down to the pokéballs in her hands. She momentarily shrunk them to the size of rubber bouncy balls so she could conceal them in her fists, easily accessible for a finger to press the center button and bloat them.

Lexi caught on and shrunk her own pokéballs. Gerard did the same and backed up for space. They had positioned themselves so that they were at four corners of the bubble. The guards watching them took no notice to significant change and continued guffawing at the crash of two Krude planes into a mountainside.

"Excuse me, sirs," Lexi chirped loudly, hoping to be heard above their laughing, "I need to go to the bathroom!"

Apparently they put so much trust in her, one of them had stuck his thumb on the release button without remembering to escort. Ashka, Gerard, and Lexi had immediately jumped into action and out of the range of the bubble, expanding pokéballs in their hands. Paru blinked and wondered why they had stepped out.

In several flashes, a Charizard, Dragonite, Umbreon, Froslass, Serperior, and Scrafty had appeared in various parts of the room. The men were still laughing at the screen and hadn't noticed. They were so disoriented that the sight of pokémon in the same room at them had just had them mumbling like zombies. Maintenance man fled from the room, and the three trainers had let him. The bubble zapped alive, trapping Paru who hadn't bothered to move.

Ashka found his laziness irritating this situation. She couldn't just _leave _him, so now she had to get to the dashboard. Commands were given from Gerard and Lexi, and the guards, who were too intoxicated to take their swords to fight back, took a Blizzard and Leafstorm. The guards were scattered and the pokémon occupied them. Charizard knocked around three heads of tall men, while Umbreon bit the pants leg of another and Scrafty head-butted the owner of the leg. Now with a clear path, Ashka went for the dashboard and pressed the release button.

"Paru, get off your fat, lazy_ ass_ dammit!" Ashka screamed in the hype. Paru scrambled up, flinching from the sudden sound of her voice, and Lexi pulled him out the rest of the way. Another man went for Ashka with a dagger unsheathing from his utility belt, but Dragonite went to aid its trainer and smacked the dagger out of the man's hand. Dragonite sent one thick arm into the man's face, and he fell to the floor with a twisted nose. Ashka smiled thankfully at her pokémon.

"How do we get out of here?" Lexi asked, rushing to the dashboard as the pokémon dealt with the Blumans. Both girls ducked as Serperior flicked a man across the room with its tail.

"We need to crash the ship." Ashka said, trying to figure out the endless buttons on the dashboard. It was similar to many of the things she had ridden, like the hovercraft driven by James or the submarine led by Mr. Valacio.

Lexi turned to her with a bewildered look. "Are you crazy! Let's do something _normal_ and look for the escape hatch! We have flying pokémon to help us out!"

"You don't get it," Ashka insisted with a huff. "We're in a battle, Lexi, and we're in one of the main ships of Queen Everie's fleet. If we can trash _this _supply ship, then she'd be out of ammo soon. The less pokémon that die from this stupid thing the better, right?"

Lexi nodded in agreement. The battle from the window wasn't looking anymore pretty. The Krude's were beginning to break out the mini-ships similar to Brett's, and now it was laser fire and strategic flight that got them through.

"Hurry and crash it then! They might send more men!" She said, looking wearily to the arches in case there was a wave of reinforcements.

"I—don't—UGH! I suck at this technology stuff!" Ashka shouted, banging her fists on the dashboard.

"Allow me, ladies..." Paru slid himself into a chair and took the reins. Ashka rolled her eyes and knew he would be wasting their time while Lexi was hopeful. Gerard and Ashka's Charizard were stashing the rest of the men into the bubble. Paru brought up the controls, something Ashka wouldn't have been able to do even with a control manual, and took the steering lever—he jammed it forward with the steering tilted down—

"Wait, we're at the nose of the ship—" Lexi started,

"Brace for impact!" Ashka shouted, holding onto a nearby column as everything reeled forward,

"We're at the back of the nose!" Paru corrected, "We should hit the ground in—"

With a jerking lurch everyone slammed forward, Paru's gut into the side of the dashboard, Lexi into the screen above it, and Ashka into the column she was holding. There was an ear jarring _CRASH! _and everything began to overheat, the dashboard display was cracked and black, and everything was leaning to the forward in the position of how they crashed. The electricity immediately went out, the bubble disappeared, and the bodies inside started sliding down to where Ashka, Lexi, and Paru were.

Grossed out, Ashka shouted, "Dragonite, use Dragon Rush on the wall!"

Dragonite rushed upwards towards the ceiling—it slightly dented, and Dragonite took another swing at it and broke through. What had been the wall on the right was now the ceiling with a skylight. The sound of explosions and pokémon cries were more realistic now than at the mercy of the speakers. After returning all the pokémon that couldn't fly, Charizard and Dragonite flew the trainers out from the ship and to the safety of the nearby forest and its abundance of trees to hide in.

Lexi took a refreshing breath as they began navigating through the brushes. "Feels good to be out here again, instead of cramped in that darn bubble."

"I miss sitting." Paru grumbled.

Behind them, the large ship that had held them captive was nose-deep into the ground, its front half smoking and smoldering. Pokémon were escaping from the back, as were a few emergency ships. As far as anyone else on the ship knew, the four had escaped undetected.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_So...does this Facebook thing work on Marrion? I don't know. I just wanted to say, I'm tired. This SMS might never go through, but I have confessions. I'm sick and tired of all this fantasy, and I want to go home. I want to go home and hug my mom...I want to see Castelia towers causing uneven tan lines on my face. I confess, I called myself a ladies man. I interacted with hot girls on the streets every day, but who could blame me? They classified bikini's as a suitable top to wear with jeans. When I started this journey, I gravitated towards Lexi Redstone, who was simply a princess in disguise. She saw me as a kid, yet I pursued. Then I realized there was this amazing, cool, and totally beast woman standing under my nose this whole time. Serena Valliya, I'm sorry for all this confusion between us. You were the girl I should've went for in the beginning. But it's hard now, because I've slipped too far into the friend zone and you have your own..."issues"...that I can set aside because you're beautiful, throughout. Lexi was right when she said that the outside wasn't everything. Now I fear that since we're in this battle, I'll never get a chance with you. Ever. But I want to because I might...really, really like you. God, I sound so stupid. I'm sorry._

Post could not send through. Check internet connection.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:51 AM on Marrion, seconds before the crashing of Queen Everie's Battalion<strong>

A duplicate of Irene's terraformer ray was saddled at the belt of one of the guards of Brett's ship. Ross eyed the device with curiosity, wondering what it could do. She was the only one who was sitting in the containment room, caressing her growing stomach. Megan was pacing in front of her. Ross's stomach was _huge _for having impregnated hours ago. It looked like she was six months along and that was dangerous and absurd at the same time. Brett was at the level above watching the battle of exploding metal and sipping a sustenance pack. Serena, Lucas, and Darryl watched the display while standing.

"Shit! Look at Queen Everie's battalion! It's going down!" Brett shouted, pointing at the screen. Far off into the forests a big triangular support ship was declining speedily towards the ground. The nose crashed into the trees, unable to be seen, but the pop of the explosion was audible from here and momentarily stopped all fighting. It resumed.

"The kids were in that ship." Megan breathed. She held her hands together before she fisted them.

"They might be okay." Ross said. Megan turned to her, and her eyes softened.

"Ross, it looks like you have a growth! Please...we need to get that checked out."

"But it is mine." She protested softly. "My own alien..."

Megan had already concluded that Ross was insane. "At least do something to get us out of here." Megan whispered. "I need to find the kids in that forest before they get hurt!"

Ross only needed a second to think about it and smirked. "Do you have your Flygon?"

"I have him, I just can't get the damn thing open."

"We won't need it." Ross said, and stood. The guards glanced at her. Megan went to Lucas and Serena and touched their shoulders, being sure that they were in arms reach. Ross made a few faces, and held her stomach. "Ohh...I feel sick..." She said loudly, groaning. She sounded convincing, but Brett was too focused on a new wave of fighter planes heading for a second of mini-ships. He was giving off commands.

"Someone handle the pregnant chick!" He shouted between commands.

A few guards came toward Ross, who handled her enormous stomach with weak arms. She gargled as her back was gently pushed to the doors. She silently turned her head to look at Megan, and communication was made. Ross looked down to the utility belt of the guard on her left.

In a swift moment she elbowed both guards in the gut, took the terraformer ray, and blasted both, then the rest of the guards before anyone had blinked. The setting was on sonic waves, which had knocked out both men instantly. Bright blue orbs shot with a _POW!_, smacking each and every Bluman who was reaching for their hilt to attack back. Megan and the others took cover behind the cots. Ross was on her own, belly and all, whipping back and forth and ducking to shoot. Brett had escaped towards the left of the upper level, shouting demands for back up as he went for the escape hatch.

"For Oceania!" shouted Ross. She twitched the nozzle, the rods gleamed from yellow to red, and she pressed the trigger, aimed at the dashboard. She released the trigger, firing a flurry of tiny red bullets. It instantly ate through the metal, putting holes in the dashboard. She then span around and fired at the next wave of guards, who had congested at the automatic doors and tried shooting from there. She hadn't been hit and she was still dodging, and Megan was in awe at how she was able to do all that while carrying precious cargo.

_She's Rank S for a reason, _thought Megan.

"Hit the dashboard! Hurry!" Darryl said.

Ross turned again, held the trigger, allowing a huge red orb to gather at the end of the nozzle. She released it. It smashed into the dashboard, flinging a beautiful spray of golden and red sparks, until an ear-splitting explosion decimated the entire wall that held the dashboard. The lights above them flickered.

"Come on!" Megan said, herding Serena and Lucas up the staircase. Darryl followed, having nothing to fight back. Ross began to walk backwards up the stairs as well, still firing with a _POW! POW! _at the resurgence of guns and men. She leapt down a step as another orb was shot at her. She hurried up the steps, barely getting a blue orb-bullet in the foot.

Serena's wings popped from her back. She could see the battlefield clearly, the swarm of ships in the distance that looked like flies, and she could see the ground coming closer as the ship descended. She was at the edge of the uneven hole, she could feel the heat from the explosion.

She took Lucas's hand and jumped.

"Can you hold two—AHHHHH!" Lucas screamed, but Serena had arced them, landing safely on the ground—behind them merrily meters away a ship came slamming into the ground, pushing them forward.

Megan, now at the edge, released Flygon. She hopped on, as did Darryl, and she waited for Ross. "Come on Ross!" She shouted. Ross was being held up by more men firing at her. They were coming nonstop and up the stairs now. Ross scrambled onto the Flygon—a yellow orb-bullet hit Flygon's tail! Flygon yipped in pain and fell over the edge—

They were closing to the ground—

"Flygon wake up!" Megan pleaded—

Flygon's wings stood straight, then expanded, lifting them back into the heat and metal shredded air. Megan silently thanked her pokémon and told it to follow Serena, who had darted into the trees. Serena could not hold up she and Lucas anymore and collapsed onto the ground five feet in the air, tumbling. Lucas kept on rolling until he was stopped by a tree, while Serena had knocked into a thorny bush. Both released a breath of relief.

"In all that, I think the screen of my PokéGear cracked." Muttered Lucas.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:52 AM on Marrion, a minute after the crashing of Queen Everie's Battalion and Brett's main spaceship<strong>

"James, what can you do with the controls? Get us out of this blasted hangar!"

"I can't! All the controls are frozen!" James wailed, continually pressing the glass interface. He faced the opening of the hangar, so he was the one who could see the falling of pokémon, ships, and planes. The battle was quick to start declining. Queen Everie's pokémon forces seem to diminish after the incapacitating of her main ship, and Brett's forces were going willy nilly now, no longer in strategic formations or positions. Blasts and shrapnel flew from the northeast in the sky and on the ground, with the robotic brigade being swept and sliced by the remainder of Brett's mini-ships. Now only one main formation held, and Olivier, at the back door to the hangar, was certain that Brett in the center.

"_Daniel, James, your time to enter the battle has come near." _Olivier said.

"What? Now?" Daniel cried out. "Our plane is stuck!"

"_That is only because you will not be flying it. You will be exploding...with it." _

"Por que!" shouted James, now wrestling with his seatbelt. Daniel tried pounding the glass of the roof, but he couldn't get out as well. On both sides of the dashboard Daniel and James could see a countdown of thirty seconds, and with a rushing push, their plane was out of the hangar, into the light, and surging straight for Brett's final formation.

"James, please do something!" Daniel shouted, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"We're stuck! I can't—I—" James eyed the seconds ticking by, and when they were at zero, it would be over. _No! I will not have thirty seconds of life left! _He unbuckled his seatbelt and went under the dashboard, immediately ripping all wires. It did nothing, but he knew nothing else to do. Daniel did as well, but the seconds were ticking to 15—

14—

"I found the explosives sequence!" James shouted, "I just need the code! I—"

"DO SOMETHING, DAMMIT JAMES!" Daniel shouted, pushing at the glass roof of the cockpit—

13—

12—

James inputted numbers, but it kept on refusing—

11—

10—

He tried, "1234", nothing—

9—they were seconds away from the formation, which began shooting, but Olivier was maneuvering them from the hangar—

8—

James punched in "0000—", nothing! 7—

The floor was heating up—

"Forget the sequence, get ready to jump!" Daniel shouted, and released the glass roof—both were instantly sucked out, fresh air—into the clouds—Daniel's body was shocked from the air pressure, and had went unconscious—James reached for Skarmory's pokémon as they free fell, and dropped it—

5—

4—Skarmory leapt out of its pokéball, saddling its trainer on its back, and dove for Daniel—

3—

Both were now on the bird—

2—

"Skarmory, down! Hurry!" James screamed. Skarmory nodded, diving downwards as fast as it could, closing its wings to its side, hurrying for the ground, dodging incoming planes and spacecrafts—

1—

_BOOSH! _The explosion had knocked every sound from their ears, heat pushing them down even faster, the sound of metal bursting and snapping, and its ring of protection along with it—hot metal pieces started raining down, James felt it brush his cheek—Skarmory quickly arced them before they collided with the ground, rushing them into the cool trees.

As the sound of gunfire and explosions continued, James rubbed his cheek. It stung, as a tiny, hot metal piece had pierced him, and it was quickly bleeding. Forgetting about the pokéball that had dropped during the free-fall, he shook Daniel awake and held his cheek, trying to rub the profuse amount of sticky blood.

"Tropp!" A loud pokémon voice came from above. Almost like an angel, Jun aboard his Tropius lowered from the skies, carrying, luckily, a first aid kit. Jun hopped from his pokémon and leapt to aid the two.

"My God! What did I miss?" Jun wondered.

"Give me the Neosporin! I gotta boo-boo!" James whined, scrambling to open the kit.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:53 AM on Marrion, seconds after the explosion of Brett's Formation<strong>

The amount of ships on the battle front were beginning to diminish. Queen Everie's pokémon were nowhere to be seen unless you counted the dead bodies and separated limbs in the now black grass, if there was any grass left from the craters and explosions. The ship that Brett had fled in had burst from explosives, as well as his supporting ships, so now any of his remaining had no one to command them and they scattered restless. All that was left were the Krude who were tired, running out of fuel, and smoking with lost wings or over exhaustion.

Just when the battle was about to be declared of a winner, Queen Everie had sent one last creature to defend her home. It was a 17-foot, white dragon with wide wings that also had thumbs the size of houses at the ends. The Lugia was accented in red with a tail of steel, the embodiment of a Steelix. It went by the name of Lugix (lou-jicks), but the only sound coming from its skyscraper-swallowing maw was a screech of,

"_SCREEEEEEEAA!"_

Lugix flew heavily in the sky, sweeping its tail effortlessly over slow ships that were destroyed instantly like crackers, too fast for flames to envelop. Destruction even heavier, Krudes were almost effortless to stop it. It's Aeroblast was like a ferociously contained tornado, ripping trees from their roots and slamming it veraciously into anything in the area, so far that it even collided with a Krude supply ship that held Olivier. The ship was torn to bits before it could even register it.

Megan, Darryl, Lucas, and Ross were running, Serena was flying, far from the massacre behind them. They knew they had to get distance if they wanted to be safe from the demon that Everie had released. If that was her secret weapon, she should have used it first. Ross was clambering behind, further than Darryl, as it was hard for her to run with her stomach bobbing. Megan made her ride on Flygon, but Serena was quick to yell,

"Mr. Daniel!"

Megan's heart fluttered, she brought up her styler, and indeed, Daniel's styler picked up on the radar. She kicked even faster, weaving through the trees, she could see bodies now, Serena overhead.

"_Daniel_!" Megan shouted. She could feel his name echoing through her cavernous throat, racking through her teeth, but she could not hear his reply, not when there was a beast almost a half mile away swinging its tail like a piñata bat.

"...Megan...?"

She closed her eyes, allowing his voice to soothe the rage levels caged inside of her—she—tripped.

Chin first into the ground, scraping it on sharp twigs and rocks. She groaned and pulled herself up, turning around—Daniel's warm brown eyes stared back apologetically at the legs carelessly splayed in front of him.

But what he saw, he saw her black hair bewildered, no longer in its ponytail and now in frizz around her, her black eyes wild and electric, her chin scratched and dirty and bleeding. And as quick as the alert wild eye look appeared, in eased into one of hurt, miss, and relief. They sat there, she on her knees, him leaning back, but he crawled over to her and embraced her, tightly.

She returned the hug, burrowing her head in his shoulder, wiping blood on his white ranger vest, which had miraculously stayed white through this entire thing. She felt so much relief she felt like she would explode like those fighter planes. James, Jun, Serena, Lucas, Darryl, and Ross had stepped back, only a tree away and quietly discussing.

Finally Daniel eased on the hug. "Let's go back to Earth. Please." He whispered.

"A vacation. On an island." She agreed, whispering even quieter. They broke apart. Daniel held her chin lightly, brushing the cut. She winced slightly. "The last time we saw each other in person, I was being pulled by a spaceship's tractor beam."

He agreed with his eyes. "I'm so glad you didn't..." He stopped. He didn't want to mention any death, and she knew exactly what he meant.

"Me too." She said. Her eyes locked with the ground. "I know this isn't the ideal situation for you to see me..in..."

"You're still the same woman I fell in love with." He said, holding her left arm. She looked back into his eyes, sure that he meant every word that he said. She didn't understand how he could still love her, seeing her so ripped apart, every emotion visible on her sleeve. But she was the same, and she loved every part of him, even the nose.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Will they kiss already?" Serena shoved his shoulder playfully.

And they did. Quick, sweet, breathless. Both got up, the spectators unsatisfied, but there was a Lugia-thing in the background causing hell for all near and they still needed to find the others. Jun rushed to give Megan the first aid kit and Ross checked her styler to see if she could tap into the PokéGears of the others.

"We need a ship to get out of here." Daniel said. "Jun, where's the ship?"

Jun, holding a cotton pad, looked up in thought and said, "...Err, the same place we left it?"

"Dude! You had the keys!" Lucas cried out. Jun and he managed to laugh though, but Lucas found it more funny that his best friend was blue and finally in front of them after this mess, but he wasn't in the least bit surprised. Jun had always acted weird, and now he had trumpet ears to go with it.

Another explosion sounded, but it wasn't from Lugix—cries and whoops of joy rang through the forest, and they immediately knew it was Lexi. Ross cried in surprise, saying she picked up their 'Gears. Serena flew into the air—

"It's Serena!" shouted Lexi,

"Where are the others?" Ashka had followed with, sounding a few trees away. Serena flipped, returning to the area where the others were. Ashka, Gerard, and Lexi emerged from trees, running in excitement to hug those they had missed. Paru emerged walking calmly with earbuds in. Lexi jumped for Lucas and Serena, squeezing them in her arms, then came for James and held him tightly, which completely surprised him. Paru shook his head bitterly and politely broke them up as Lexi was laughing. Gerard and Ashka came to Daniel and thanked God that they found him.

In all the chatter they had forgotten the battle still going on and Lugix's scream shattered every ear drum.

"Group hug anyone?" Jun offered.

"Maybe later. We need to get out of here." Daniel said. He looked to everyone's face—to Megan, Ross, Darryl, James, Lucas, Serena, Jun, Gerard, Ashka, Lexi, Paru—everyone was here, everyone except...

A cyan beam shuddered from the clouds, nailing Lugix right in the arm, freezing it. From the clouds a winged figure appeared, looking very much like Serena. Serena stepped forward, squinting, unbelieving.

"It's Sarah!" Lucas said, amazed that she was able to _fly _all the way to Marrion alone—or had she hitched a ride?

"Sarah?" Serena repeated incredulously.

"She's your twin!" Lucas said. Everyone looked at him as if he was crazy, but everyone must've gone bonkers now. "Mr. Bay made a duplicate of you, Serena! He gave you white Kyurem! Sarah got the other!"

"That does sound like something my dad would do." Daniel muttered.

"I'll take care of her." Serena muttered, crouching to launch—

"No!" Megan cried.

"Leave her alone Serena! We're not letting anyone else get hurt!" Daniel said, momentarily looking at Megan.

Lucas held her arm just in case. It was a soft, mind-boggling touch. "She's practically a robot. Let Lugix take care of her."

"No," Serena shook her head. "This is my fight. Mr. Bay is _always _saying that I need to prove how strong I am! If Sarah is my twin, then I should have chance to beat her!"

"Serena, you don't have to prove anything!" Lexi said. "We love you for who you are!"

Serena thought faintly, _It's not enough._

Lugix had taken out all things flying, all things moving, and now it was the final battle against Sarah. It was endless, as Sarah could maneuver out of all attacks yet all of her own attacks did nothing to faze the beast. Serena jetted from the ground into the sky, even when everyone yelled for her to come back. She flew into the fight, immediately detected by Sarah and Lugix. Sarah switched directives and tackled Serena in the air, bringing both downwards. Lugix went after both with an Aeroblast—

"Daniel, we need to stop her!" Megan said.

"No, I'll go." Daniel said, "You get everyone to a safe place!"

"I'm not leaving you to fight this alone!" She said indignantly, holding up her styler.

"Allow me to help." Ross said, holding up her own styler.

"You're pregnant!" Daniel protested helplessly.

"It might be a bubble of air!" Ross shot back. "You will need my help! 3 is better than one!"

Daniel groaned. "Fine!" He turned to Ashka. "Ashka, get everyone to safety! Go!"

"Let us help!" Ashka said.

"No more! I can't let any of you get hurt!" Daniel said. "You're _my_ responsibility! I won't lose anyone else anymore, okay?"

Ashka sighed. He was right. "Yes sir, Mr. Daniel." She said, and turned to the others. "Everyone follow me!" She ran in the opposite direction of the fight. The others followed wordlessly. The rangers swapped looks, nodded, and ran to apprehend Lugix.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 17, 7:56 AM on Marrion<strong>

Serena couldn't believe it—Sarah was a perfect reflection, only with darker hair and orange eyes. But there was something about her, something inhumane—she had no feelings, she went for all the cheap shots, trying really hard to badly hurt her—even kill her she realized—and when she finally went for an Ice Beam, Serena twisted out of the way and shot her own, rocketing Sarah into the skin of Lugix.

Lugix gave another brain melting screech, shooting an Aeroblast in the range of both girls, hurtling them to the ground. Sarah was faster to get up, while Serena was still trying to get some air. Sarah loomed over Serena, eyes bitter, laughing at her.

"How are you my competition," Sarah whispered, her voice much like the ice she possessed, "When you are _no _match for me?"

"We'll see about that..." Serena coughed, wrenching herself from the crater she made. She blew a weak Icy Wind that merrily felt like air conditioning to Sarah. Sarah slammed down her arm, forcing a much stronger Icy Wind that actually froze Serena's wings. Serena moved and flapped her wings, cracking the ice, and shot another Ice Beam that tossed Sarah up again.

Megan now came from the air on her Flygon, circling the giant Lugix. Flygon ducked as Lugix blasted another Aeroblast. Megan shot her styler—she lassoed the baton, but the rings of light took too long to circle around a wide stature like Lugix, and broke the second it had stretched. Daniel, from the trees, tried having Pita use Scald on its foot, but that did nothing. Ross was positioned at a tree top, but even she couldn't wrangle a light around it.

Sarah, annoyed that Serena was still flying, brought her fingers up—dirt from below had tightened into rocks, and she flung them at Serena—Serena's wings got caught, and she came down in a heap.

"_Serena, can you hear me? This is Lucas!" _Came a voice from Serena's ear.

"How is this Bluetooth STILL in my ear!" shouted Serena, pulling herself from the ground. She jumped, but her wings could not lift her. Fear washed over her and she began shooting Ice Beams to save herself, but Sarah jumped out of the way. Lugix's hand came from behind and slammed into Sarah, bring her to the ground like a fly with a fly swatter.

"_Sarah has a self-destruct button!" _He said.

"She does? Where?" Serena pressed, running backwards to get distance from Lugix. The rangers were once again trying for rings, but it had broken through every attempt.

"_I have the code in my PokéGear!" _Lucas said, "_But we can take down the beast at the same time! Just tell me when she's close enough!"_

Serena kept running—

Lugix swung its tail, smacking Ross out of the tree, swatting Flygon and Megan out of the sky—now it was just Daniel, who didn't know what to do anymore—

Sarah flew up to Lugix's face to send an Ice Beam down its throat—Lugix's opened its mouth for Aeroblast—with one last shot, Serena shot an Ice Beam at Sarah—

Sarah was pushed into the mouth of the beast—

"NOW LUCAS!" Serena screeched, throwing herself down a hill—

Something was clicked. Sarah froze, then started jolting and convulsing. She started lighting up like a firework.

And then from inside, she burst apart, limb from limb, exploding right in Lugix's mouth, who had teetered and tottered from the sudden invasion in its mouth.

Serena hyperventilated as she reached the end of the hill she had rolled, unbelieving that her supposed twin had just exploded in the mouth of Lugia-Steelix hybrid.

"Capture, on!" Daniel shot the rings once more while Lugix was still dazed, tightening the loops around it, constricting it, pleading with it to stop—the styler beeped in success, Daniel slashed down, and released his finger from the styler. The rings of light absorbed into Lugix, and it's eyelids fell. It murmured quietly.

Serena looked to the beginning of the forest where she heard Lucas's footsteps. He ran to her and helped her up. She was scratched, frosty in places, and her wings were paralyzed. They hung limply like fake props easily bought at costume stores. She didn't dare meet his eyes, she felt too many things at once to wonder how she would react at seeing his face anymore.

"That was...fun." She finally said, making a laugh out of it.

"Serena," Lucas called. She looked up in wonder—His lips met her unsuspecting ones, and for a second, she had been surprised and about to ice him—but the she was okay with it and kissed him back.

"Aww..." cooed Lexi, who was watching with Jun, Ashka, Gerard, Paru, and James.

"Wasn't he into you?" Gerard asked.

"He was always better with Serena." Lexi said, sounding like she was totally okay with everything that had happened. All the while, her arm was looped protectively with James.

From above, another space ship came—everyone immediately went into protective mode, Serena and Lucas broke apart—Irene waved from the windshield, and that had everyone smiling and waving as she lowered to the ground.

Then Serena slapped Lucas's shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for!" He whined, turning his eyes back to her.

"For being random!" She said, and giggled, closing her arms around him to hug him even tighter.

Irene lowered the catwalk and ran down to meet everyone—she came for Jun first, leaping at him for a hug. He had half a mind to swing her around because he was joyous to see that she was alright and hadn't end up like Kai—but he didn't, because the others were staring.

Daniel was laughing and coming down the hill with Ross and Megan in tow. "Everyone ready to go home?"

"I'm driving! Hehehehe!" Darryl said.

"Wait, guys look." Paru pointed to the sky. A whole 'nother fleet was coming from the sky—different this time. They swapped looks. Was the battle not over _yet_?

"Wait...that's Oceania's space brigade." Megan said, and squinted. "And...I think that's Amber at the helm!"

Irene huffed. "About time they got here!"

* * *

><p>"<em>...And Oceania's military operations captured Queen Everie of the Putuptupian Kingdom on Marrion, forcing her to sign a treaty to never invade Earth again. On question of the other side of this miraculous planet, Oceanic forces have decided to let the U.N. take control of Krude, as their dictatorship has ended with the loss of their dictator, Olivier. His cabinet, however, agrees on letting the U.N. take control due to their economic turmoil from the brief battle of Krude, Putuptup, and a random division of the Putuptupians."<em>

The journey had ended. Everyone was sent home to their families in one piece, everything was cleaned up. A scar was left from what the Krudes and Pups did on Earth turf, but they were soon to recover. Oceania was also under U.N. control since their President was nowhere to be found. The internet was rebooted, and Lucas couldn't have been more ecstatic.

Paru kept flipping through channels, but everything was directed to the attack that happened last week. Things hadn't settled one bit. Now that there was colonization on a second planet, a lot of people wanted to visit there and study the exotic hybrid pokémon. Archeologists were looking for the lost S.S. Noah Ark II.

"_...This tale of sci-fi proportions begins in Lilycove Ruins, where the Lilycove tournament was taking place. In the final round, it was 18-year-old James Lopreo against 23-year-old Brett Kuso. The final match never happened, as the invasion had startled them before it could begin."_

James was being interviewed. _"He took out a few of my friends in previous matches...God that guy was strong. He didn't need to command anything for his pokémon to attack." _He looked at the camera mischievously, as if he knew something that everyone else didn't. "_It would've been one heck of a battle if I could've gone against him."_

"_Several teens and adults had made it into space, and held down the fort while Earth's space forces were trying to get to Marrion...here I have Daniel and Megan, two rangers from the Hoenn division."_

"Hey, I know them." Paru said to his TV. His Pichu rolled its eyes.

Daniel and Megan were now in their regular Hoenn uniforms, instead of the tattered white and gold of the Summer Trek. It was weird to seem them dressed in anything else.

"_No comment." _Megan had said, and smiled.

"_I almost got blown up." _Daniel shrugged. The reporter looked at him strangely.

Paru changed the channel.

"_...Is it true? Are there really aliens out there? No friends, they are human. They may be blue, they may have different ears, and they may be able to burn things when they're mad, but they are still like you and me." _Paru rubbed his neck, where the blue had faded. "_Now that the Blumans in both Krude and Putuptup know that we exist, they wish to visit us...they wish to integrate with us. Soon we will be seeing Blumans on the street, in our schools, in our parks, in our pokémon leagues. Friends, we must accept them."_

* * *

><p><strong>Ashka Storme <strong>_is now in a relationship with _**Gerard Eckhart**.  
>20 people like this<p>

**Lucas Taylor **About damn time! :D

**Lexi Redstone **Hurray! I knew it! :3 Aliens bring everyone together!

**Amber Hendrix **Who asked who out?

**Lucas Taylor **Probably Ashka. She has the pants in the relationship XD  
>Ashka Storme likes this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lexi Redstone <strong>_checked in with foursquare at Castelia's Cone Corp. with _**James Lopreo**

* * *

><p><strong>Jun Kirman <strong>_Guys, I'm gonna miss our journey together. We should hang out again sometime! :D  
><em>4 people like this

**Irene Connor **Eh, maybe later. Let things settle down...Every time we come together something HAPPENS.

**Lucas Taylor **lol

* * *

><p><strong>James Lopreo <strong>_I got accepted into Harvard League College!_  
>3 people like this<p>

**Ashka Storme **me too!

* * *

><p><strong>Nicolas Wolfe <strong>_bojargajar._

* * *

><p><strong>Lucas Taylor <strong>_The journey was fun, guys. We blew up volcanoes...had a run in with aliens...blew up a hot cold chick...lol, next summer can't compare. But seriously, I'm going by myself next time. And with __**Serena Valliya. **_  
>Ashka Storme and Lexi Redstone like this<p>

**Jun Kirman **I can't come?

**Lucas Taylor **Third wheel much?...Unless you bring Irene along.

**Jun Kirman **What difference does that make?  
>Irene Connor virtually "slaps" Jun Kirman.<p>

* * *

><p>Daniel led Megan through Route 116. At one time, they had ridden down here in circular rafts with a whale tugging them along. A terraformer ray had been found, and friendships were soon to be born. It brought back memories. Now with summer over, the two had less work than usual. Not many naïve teens to help through the wild pokémon, not many interruptions. The river today was nice and calm. They sat with their ankles wading through.<p>

"Hectic summer." He said.

"_Hell_tic summer." She corrected, turning to him with adoring eyes.

He fiddled with his hand in his pocket. It all came down to this moment, and his stomach pained in nervousness. "Do you remember..." He started, looking down at the river, "When you were about to get abducted?"

"I don't want to think about it.." She muttered, lightly kicking his foot with her own.

He smiled. "I had said...something about that alter. And you being the only one there with me." He turned to see her expression.

And she was puzzled, but realization came and her smile and blush were packaged together. "I...Daniel..." He produced a small, white box from his pocket and opened it with both hands. Her heart had stopped and she stared at him, not the ring inside. But both were beautiful. "I—I can't..."

He wouldn't take no for an answer. "Megan, there's no one else I love but you. No one else." He pulled his wet feet from the river and knelt in the proposing position he had seen in old movies. "Please Megan Valacio, marry me."

She laughed. She felt so old being proposed to this way. She wanted to close the box, but she also didn't— "Daniel...I...I'm sorry. I don't deserve you."

His face fell. "What do you mean?"

She looked back to the water. "You're so nice...so understanding, so supportive...God, you're always there for me. You deserve someone better than me Daniel," She turned back to him, "Someone who doesn't ignore your calls or leave you when she feels like things are going too fast...someone like Ross." She muttered.

He was already slipping the ring on her finger. Perfect, as he saw fit.

"Ross is Ross, Megan." Daniel said. "What do I have to do to get you to realize that you're the only one I want to see when I wake up in the morning? You're the only one I...God, I suck at mushy speeches...I..."

The hand with the ring closed over his. "I'm stupid." She giggled quietly. "I keep thinking you'll run off for someone else when you get the chance...Thing is, you've had the chance all along." He looked at her questioningly. She said, "And yet, here you are."

"...So will you marry me?" Again, he was hopeful.

She smiled and looped her arms around him—and pulled them both into the water. Both came back up, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Yes, I'll marry you!" She laughed.

He stuck his tongue out. "Warn a guy! I almost swallowed a Barboach!" But no matter what happened the rest of the day, or even the week, or the next few months, he would still be smiling. Because finally, after all this time, no matter where she goes, he knows she will always, always come back.

* * *

><p><strong>Daniel Bay <strong>_is engaged to _**Megan Valacio  
><strong>Too many likes to be recorded

**Lexi Redstone **Congrats!

**Jun Kirman **YAY! Love!

**James Lopreo **Lucky :)

**Lucas Taylor **'bout time...

**Ashka Storme **What does the ring look like?

**Gerard Eckhart **Are we invited to the wedding?

**Irene Connor **I want to crash it!

**Serena Valliya **Not with your spaceship I hope...

**Paru **Hai.

**Megan Valacio **You're all invited :).

**Lucas Taylor **OMG...she uses FaceBook.  
>14 people like this<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Aannd...WE'RE FINALLY DONE! WOOO!<strong>

**My God. You know how accomplished I feel right now? So much.**

**I want to thank all of the readers who have been following throughout, and all the gracious authors who had submitted their characters. Each and every one was fun to work with, and they really felt like real people to me. I know everyone by heart, and I no longer needed to look at a second document like before! I feel sad and relieved that it is the end. I had fun, and I hope you did as well.**

**Thanks so much to the readers, reviewers, alerters. I was honestly very inspired by the Starwars book on the battle scenes, and **_Zokolov _**who has an amazing writing style! Also thank you to **_KingOfStories101 _**who was always there for me with those extensive reviews. I needed that critism. I realize how much my writing has developed since the Prologue, and I'm thankful for all feedback.**

**The wonderful OCs belong to::**

Ashka Storme - _WolfehUmbreonWarrior_

James Lopreo - _Yamashishi_

Gerard Eckhart - _Mihile's Reflection Deneb_

Lucas Taylor - _AshKetchumDarkSide_

Lexi Redstone - _ColaVixen Inc_

Irene Connor - _2lazy2makeaname_

Jun Kirman/Kaisei Arcan/Zane/Part of Nicolas - _KingOfStories01_

Serena Valliya - _BlueRoseOfSerenity2_

Paru - _BNVShark_

Also, Theodore (one of the first shown gym leaders) was an OC, but I can't find the review of the author. Kudos to his character!

**And now, some plot confessions.**

**-The terraformer ray gun, I honestly forgot about until today.**

**-Ross was supposed to have a bigger role...but in the end, had a minor roll. I wanted her to be the rock that wedged Daniel and Megan apart, but she ended up just "being" there.**

**-Kay was me.**

**-Elliot was not a real person, just in case you were worried about that.**

**-I thought Amber was a bit too wild and powerful to be real. The lightsaber thing was weird for even me.**

**-I was always stuck on Nicolas's character. I think you guys give me too much credit on making him round-out. He's just...random.**

**-The time-travel plot was totally random and came out of nowhere. I honestly wouldn't have had it if Zane hadn't been submitted by **_KingOfStories101_**, but I wanted everyone to have an equal chance at being a character. I think it worked out well, even for the crappy ending.**

**-I don't think I made Rodolfo rivally-enough. He was just annoying, any sometimes hard to write.**

**-Sohjay is a random region I came up with on the spot because I was pressed for ideas.**

**-Paru to me came off as another one of the random characters. I apologize to **_BNVShark_ **for giving me a character I couldn't give a big enough role. **

**-The whole "twin of Serena" also came at last minute. **

**-I based Darryl off of one of my real friends, but he's not flamboyant. He's actually really cool with politics.**

**-I kept making Jun the fall guy because he had the most similar John-doe type personality to me...I had to branch it out a little. **

**-I had no idea who I wanted Lucas to be with at the end. He had a thing for Lexi, and that whole crying thing in Darryl's labyrinth was unneeded. That was a mess.**

**-The end of the story with the whole invasion thing was a scrambled mess for me. I kept confusing myself on whose side Irene was on, and what the heck was happening to Kai and Brett. And what ever happened to Kari? I'll never know.**

**It was fun to write guys, and I thank you for reading ^_^ Any other questions I will truthfully answer! Thank you!**


End file.
